


Dearly beloved

by SilentRain91



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Cheesy, Dorks in Love, F/F, Fake Marriage, Fluff, Friendship / Flirting / Thinking of You Fest, Kid Fic, Neighbors, Oblivious Kara Danvers, Romance, Some Humor, Sort Of, Teasing, background sanvers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-26
Updated: 2017-10-08
Packaged: 2019-01-05 17:50:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 43,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12194772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilentRain91/pseuds/SilentRain91
Summary: Lena isn't surprised by neighbors knocking on her door to ask if she can spare a cup of sugar or a couple of batteries. What she doesn't expect, however, is an impromptu proposal from her always-borrowing-sugar neighbor whom she barely knows.As if that wasn't crazy enough yet, she finds herself falling for said neighbor.





	1. Chapter 1

Kara sat down with a hopeful smile on her face, hands folded atop her lap as she gazed out of the window behind the desk. Her smile faltered, however, when the lady of the agency looked at her with sorrow, which was anything but promising.

“We are terribly sorry, Miss Danvers,” the lady said, shaking her head no as she slid Kara’s files over the desk. “Our agency only considers couples, you should have said. Your profile is interesting, but it does not qualify for the needs we require.”

“But…,” Kara replied, sighing loudly. “This is the third agency I’ve tried,” she argued, wishing to get a chance.

“Despite your good intentions, we cannot forego our policy,” the lady explained, sounding truly sorry. “You may wish to explore other options.”

Kara leaned back in her chair and shook her head with a bitter smile. Other options weren’t particularly an option at all for her. This was her only shot and she kept getting turned down, much to her frustration.

“Here is our brochure for those who aren’t selected,” the lady said, handing Kara a brochure. “I wish you the best of luck.”

“Thanks,” Kara mumbled, whisking the brochure out of her hand. She could see the pity in the lady’s eyes, which only aided to make her situation worse than it already was. “Sorry I wasted your time,” she said, pushing the chair back as she got up.

Her walk back home was silent and once she got inside, she locked the door and grabbed a pint of ice cream and a spoon. There was one more agency she hadn’t gone to, but it would be pointless. She already checked their website, which revealed they share the same policy as the other three agencies.

It’s wasn’t fair and sadly, she couldn’t change anything about that. All she could do was live with it. She let herself cry as she spooned mouthfuls of chocolate fudge ice cream into her mouth. During difficult times like this she wished she’d be able to call her parents, but they perished in a fire seventeen years ago, when she was twelve.

In a few months it’ll be eighteen years since they died. It didn’t get easier as time passed. She would have perished in that fire, too, if she hadn’t been on that camping trip with school. The last thing she said to her parents was that she’d see them again in a few days and that she wasn’t going to be homesick.

Life had given her a slap then, when she returned home as an orphan. Ever since that day, more slaps have been added, such as the slap from the agencies rejecting her.

She held her phone in her hand, considering phoning her sister, though ended up changing her mind. Alex had recently been dating a woman she met and she wouldn’t want to disturb, knowing her sister was probably with said woman.

Groaning, she threw her phone onto the table and reached for her remote. If she was going to be sad, she might as well be sad whilst getting a stomach ache from eating too much ice cream as she binges some crappy tv show.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Good morning, Lena,” Kara said with a chipper tone.

“Good morning, Kara,” Lena replied, smiling. “Ran out of sugar again?” she asked whilst she walked to her kitchen.

“Um yeah,” Kara answered, remaining at the door. “I should really pay more attention to that when I go grocery shopping,” she said, laughing lightly as she pushed her glasses higher up her nose.

Lena filled a cup with sugar and handed it over to Kara. “There you go,” she said, wondering how Kara’s teeth hadn’t all fallen out yet with the amount of sugar she seemed to consume.

“Thank you, you’re a lifesaver,” Kara replied, grateful.

“I’m known for worse,” Lena said, smiling slightly as she appreciated the compliment.

“People are wrong about you,” Kara sighed, tapping her fingers against the cup. “You’re friendly and helpful and I always see you feeding stray cats and dogs,” she said, not understanding how anyone could ever say a bad word about Lena.

“Oh,” Lena whispered, raising her eyebrows. “Have you been spying on me, Miss Danvers?” she asked with mirth in her eyes. Watching Kara splutter all shyly always brightened her day.

“What? I… no, pfft,” Kara answered, looking everywhere except at Lena. “I don’t spy,” she said, bringing her free hand up to fidget with her glasses. “I observe.”

“It is quite alright, Kara,” Lena said, resting a hand on her nervous neighbor’s arm to keep her from fidgeting further. “I was merely teasing you. You can _observe_ as much as you’d like.”

“Well, um,” Kara gulped, cheeks red. “Thanks once again for the sugar,” she said, taking a step back, feeling her arm burn where Lena’s hand had been.

“Anytime,” Lena replied, sincere. “Enjoy your coffee,” she said, vaguely entertaining the thought Kara might forget to get sugar on purpose so she has an excuse to knock on her door nearly every morning.

If that was the case, she hoped her neighbor would continue to purposefully forget, because her brief company was most welcome. Then again, she shouldn’t delude herself with a thought like that, considering Kara forgot her key once, thus locking herself out, which made it more than plausible that she truly kept forgetting to buy sugar.

Kara nodded and just about walked into her door, quickly finding her key so she could enter her apartment and hide her embarrassment. She poured the cup of sugar into a bag where she kept the rest of her sugar. She’d have to drink a lot of coffee before she would run out of sugar, certain she had enough sugar to last her a couple of years.

How hard could it be to ask Lena if she’d like to join her for lunch sometime? Why did she always grow nervous around her neighbor from across the hall? There were so many things she’d like to ask Lena, ranging from which food she likes all the way down to ask her help with her issue.

As she made herself a cup of coffee, she held that thought, considering it as a possibility. Lena could be her key to unlock the door that had been closed for her. All she’d have to do is ask, what could possibly go wrong? With nothing to lose, she smiled and began to brew a plan.

Her sadness ebbed away as she stirred a spoonful of sugar into her coffee. She had found new hope with her plan in mind. One quick stop at the jewelry story and she would be all set, ready to execute her plan.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Lena moved her head slowly, giving her muscles a chance to relax while her cup of coffee was brewing. It had only been half past five when she’d slipped out of bed, unable to sleep any longer. Not that it was unusual for her. If anything, it meant she could do more with her day.

A series of three knocks on her door gathered her attention. She abandoned her coffee and stood on the tip of her toes to retrieve a cup of sugar from her cupboard. With the cup, she made her way to her door, taking her time to avoid making it look as if she’d been waiting to see her again.

Lena swung her door open, cup of sugar in her hand as she smiled at her neighbor. “Good morning, Kara,” she said, not at all surprised to see Kara being such an early bird again, showing up at her apartment at six in the morning.

Aside from the two of them, nobody in their building would get up at the crack of dawn. Most didn’t even return home until then. She’d known since she moved in over a year ago that Kara was an early riser, seizing each day. During rare occasions she managed to spot her going out for a jog or returning from one.

“Kara?” Lena asked, brows creasing together in confusion and concern at the sight of Kara’s chest heaving. It wasn’t her neighbor’s habit not to say good morning to her or even a simple too high high-pitched hi.

“Marry me, Lena,” Kara blurted out, sounding breathless as if she just ran a marathon.

The sound of the cup of sugar clattering to the ground and breaking into hundreds of tiny pieces was deafening, almost as much as Lena’s silence.

It had to be a joke, a misplaced one, but a joke nonetheless. “For a minute I thought you were being serious,” Lena chuckled, holding a hand to her heart.

Her chuckles ceased when she saw Kara wasn’t laughing at all. She froze, too shocked to speak. There was no way her attractive, enthusiastic, always happy neighbor was being serious. For god’s sake, they hadn’t even had lunch together once. They were hardly friends, if that.

“I need to marry someone so I can adopt a child,” Kara rushed to explain, eyes flicking from the sugar and the broken cup on the ground to Lena’s eyes. “This might be asking for a lot, but I promise I’ll try to be a really good wife for you.”

“Christ, Kara,” Lena whispered, still partially frozen in place. Her face grew paler with each passing second. “I thought you were here to borrow a cup of sugar,” she said, pinching herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. Ouch – not a dream, definitely not a dream. Her eyes widened when Kara honest to god knelt down on one knee and held up a ring.

“Will you please marry me?” Kara asked, holding the ring up higher, looking like a puppy begging for food. She winced when Lena fainted right in front of her, which was not the outcome she had in mind, though she should have known her neighbor wouldn’t jump into her arms. “So um… you’ll sleep on it?”

 


	2. Chapter 2

Kara was extra gentle as she lifted Lena’s head to place a pillow underneath it. She glanced at her watch, sighing when she realized it had been four minutes, give or take, since her neighbor fainted.

In hindsight, she should have suggested to drink coffee together and then slowly eased into the topic. She may have been a little bit too blunt, but she couldn’t know Lena would faint. At least she still has a pulse, so she hasn’t given her a heart attack. That has to count for something, right?

She’d try and move her neighbor into her apartment, but she’d rather not risk it considering how clumsy she can be. The last thing she would need is to bump Lena’s head against something and having to rush her to the hospital.

Footsteps sounding from the staircase signaled that someone was approaching. She cringed in advance, unsure how she was going to explain Lena lying on the floor, half inside her apartment and half outside of it.

“Kara,” Alex gasped, dropping the box of donuts she held in her hands. “What have you done to Miss Luthor?” she asked, her eyes wide as she knelt down and grasped Lena’s wrist. She breathed out in relief when she felt a pulse.

“Nothing, I swear!” Kara answered, panicky as her eyes darted from Lena to her sister. “All I did was proposing to her,” she says, calm and composed.

“Oh,” Alex whispered, but then she blinked, once, twice. “Wait you did what?” she asked, frowning.

“I knocked on her door and asked her to marry me,” Kara explained, sounding like she was announcing the weather. “And then she kind of totally fainted, so I guess she’ll think about it.”

“You proposed to her while she’s practically a stranger to you and you’re surprised she fainted?” Alex asked, face-palming. “If I was in her shoes I’d have had a damn heart-attack.”

“I admit this didn’t go down well,” Kara replied, placing her hands under Lena’s arms. “Can you help me move her?”

Alex sighed and grabbed Lena’s ankles, lifting her up. “Care to explain why the hell you were proposing to her?” she asked, all but snarling. “A Luthor no less,” she added, scoffing.

“Don’t say that,” Kara said, glaring at her sister. “You know nothing about her.”

“Oh, but you do?” Alex retorted. She lifted Lena on top of the couch and watched her sister covering her with a blanket. “I know that she’s a Luthor and that’s enough to know you should keep your distance from her.”

Kara’s eyes flashed with fire as she approached her sister. “Lena is kind,” she said, feeling an overwhelming urge to defend her.

As the two of them bickered, they didn’t notice Lena cracking her eyes open. The second she heard the two of them argue about her, she closed her eyes again and listened in. It had been the commotion they made which had woken her up in the first place.

She recognized the second voice to be Kara’s sister, having heard her visit her neighbor numerous times each week. The walls in this building weren’t exactly top notch. She hated how often people spat her last name out with venom.

“You have yet to explain why you proposed to her,” Alex backtracked.

“Because I…,” Kara took a deep breath, tears pooling from her eyes. “I want a child, Alex,” she sobbed, her glasses fogging over. “The adoption agencies keep turning me down because they only allow couples to adopt children.”

“Kara,” Alex whispered, squeezing her sister’s shoulder. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You’ve been so busy with Maggie, I didn’t want to intrude and ruin your happiness.”

“Hey, you’re my kid sister, you’re never a burden and you’re a part of my happiness,” Alex replied, offering her sister a smile. She took Kara’s glasses off and wiped her tears away with her thumbs.

Kara took her glasses back and put them back on. “Those adoption agencies are my only hope,” she whispered, having told her sister that before. “I need to marry someone so I can adopt a child.”

“Okay, I got that much, but why a Luthor?” Alex asked, shaking her head as she placed her hands on her hips. “Why her out of all people?” she asked, glancing at Lena who looked so serene, sleeping on the couch. “Winn has been smitten with you since high school and you used to have a thing with James. You could have asked one of them.”

Kara sighed, feeling like no matter how much she would explain her sister wouldn’t be able to grasp why. Winn and James are her best friends. They’re like family in her eyes and there’s no way she wants to be romantically involved with them.

Alex waited for her sister’s long rambling explanation. She glanced at her watch. “I have one hour before I have to go, so you better explain fast,” she said, tapping her foot impatiently onto the ground.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Kara asked, chuckling dryly. “I like her, Alex,” she confessed, dreamily gazing at Lena. “I really like her and I can’t imagine having someone else by my side, pretending to be my partner for a couple of months.”

“You may have wanted to add the pretend part when you proposed to her.”

“Do you think that would have helped?” Kara asked with a hopeful smile.

“No,” Alex answered, smiling when her sister chucked a pillow at her. “It may have sounded a little less crazy though or actually no, it still would have sounded crazy.”

“Very helpful,” Kara muttered, brushing past her sister to check up on Lena. She sighed at the paleness of her neighbor’s face, which was all her fault.

“You really think she’ll think about it?” Alex asked, sounding skeptical.

“Well… um… I mean…,” Kara answered, wringing her hands together. “She didn’t say no.”

Alex shook her head, murmuring incoherent words as she wandered off to Lena’s kitchen.

“What are you doing?” Kara asked, frowning as Alex rummaged through Lena’s closets.

“I’m looking for spices we can use to wake her up, but once she’s awake I’m leaving so you two can talk,” Alex answered, finding a bunch of spices. “If she doesn’t kick you out, that is.”

“Again, Alex, very helpful,” Kara murmured, sighing as her sister shrugged. She took the spices from Alex and held them near Lena’s nose, waiting for her to wake up.

Lena blinked her eyes open and coughed at the strong scent of pepper.

Kara waved her sister off with her hand behind her back, hoping to get her to leave before Lena would notice her presence. “Hi, how are you feeling?” she asked, hesitating to smile.

Lena sat up and patted the spot next to her. She ignored Alex’s shadow slipping out of her apartment. “Let me wrap my mind around this,” she said, rubbing the back of her head. Fainting had been far from comfortable. “You want to marry me because you wish to adopt a child?”

Kara nodded, but Lena didn’t look satisfied with that. “I guess I owe you a proper explanation,” she said, sighing. “How about we drink a cup of coffee and I’ll explain everything?”

Having heard quite a bit already when she was presumed unconscious, Lena felt curious to hear the whole story. Kara did appear as the impulsive type, although nobody would impulsively adopt a child and the emotion she’d heard in her voice, the despair, told her it wasn’t a whim.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Kara sat cross-legged on Lena’s couch, blowing over a steamy cup of coffee. She could feel her neighbor’s eyes on her, waiting for the explanation she promised. Unsure where to begin, she felt it was best to start at the beginning.

“When I was eleven, I had a scrapbook of things I wanted to achieve as I’d grow older,” Kara began, smiling as she remembered how much time she spent on putting it together. “One of those things was to have a child, to become a mother.”

Lena felt surprised to hear Kara knew she wanted a child at such a young age, while personally she’d always been the opposite. Her whole life she said she’d never have children, simply because she wouldn’t want to pass on the Luthor name. No innocent child deserved to live with such a burden and she deemed herself unfit as a parent anyway.

“My mother used to help me with my scrapbook and I promised her she’d be a grandmother someday,” Kara continued, her smile turning sour. “I also made promises such as getting good grades, graduating and so forth, all of which I kept,” she said, sighing. “My parents died when I was twelve, everything went up in smoke.”

“I know what it feels like to lose your family,” Lena replied, grasping Kara’s hand, running her thumb along it. “And I know that telling you how sorry I am won’t bring them back or lessen your pain. What I can tell you is how proud they would be of the woman you’ve become, even though you buy dozens of pizzas yet can’t remember to buy some sugar.”

That got a small smile out of Kara, which only reconfirmed that she’d been right to propose to Lena rather than to someone else. “Any who,” she said, clearing her throat. “I had tried to conceive a child for a year and a half, using sperm donors. It didn’t work and after thorough tests, the doctors told me I can’t bear children, so I had to cross that option off of the list until adoption remained.”

Lena nodded slowly, starting to get a grasp on Kara’s logic behind it all. She clicked the puzzle pieces together with what she overheard before Alex had left.

“The adoption agencies have a very strict policy,” Kara explained, saddened. “Only married couples are allowed to adopt. It’s unfair because single parents exist, but those are their rules. When I proposed, I meant that it would mean a lot to me if you could pretend to be my wife for a few months. After a few months the agency would leave me be with my child and then we can get a divorce so you can return to your life.”

Lena raised a brow, hearing how deadset Kara sounded to raise a child on her own. “I might have to sleep on it,” she said, the corners of her lips curling up as Kara’s jaw dropped.

“Y-you he-heard tha-that?” Kara stuttered, cheeks turning a dark shade of red. Her coffee nearly sloshed over her fingers as it moved around in the cup. “When I said that I meant um… that um… you probably want to sleep on it? Because it’s a big decision and you um… need time before you say I do?” she asked, voice light and hopeful as a smile fought its way onto her face. “Don’t worry I’ll let you sleep on it for two nights.”

“Two whole nights?” Lena replied, her voice higher pitched than usual, “how generous of you.”

“You’re welcome,” Kara said, patting Lena’s knee. “It’s the least I can do for my soon to be wife.”

 


	3. Chapter 3

Lena didn’t know whether to smile at Kara’s adorable nervousness or to faint all over again due to how overwhelming the favor in question was. “How about we talk for a bit and actually get to know each other while I make us breakfast?” she suggested.

“Yes, of course!” Kara agreed, beaming because at least Lena hadn’t said no yet. “And please,” she added, getting up. “Allow me. I’ll make us some pancakes.”

“I don’t have any sugar left,” Lena replied, sighing as her eyes darted towards the door. “The cup I dropped was all I had left,” she explained. She was going to get more sugar later today, though she wasn’t worried since she was never much of a sweet tooth to begin with.

“That’s okay, I have plenty at my place,” Kara blurted out, realizing too late what she had revealed.

“Pardon?” Lena asked, wondering if her theory about Kara using sugar as an excuse to see her often was true after all. Adding the fact that she overheard her neighbor tell Alex that she likes her, she’d say her theory wasn’t far off the mark.

“Nothing,” Kara mumbled, attempting to hide her face. “How does toast sound?” she asked, dashing towards Lena’s kitchen.

“There is some muesli in my kitchen,” Lena answered, amused to see Kara cringing. “And I believe there is a box of cereal somewhere,” she added, seeing her neighbor’s frown turn into a smile. She’d let the sugar incident slide for now, given Kara was jittery enough as it was.

“Ohh, coco pops!” Kara exclaimed when she found the cereal. “So um… how old are you?” she asked, deciding to start with the basics.

“I’m twenty-six,” Lena answered, saving the comment of how a lady shouldn’t be asked about her age.

“Really?” Kara replied, quite surprised. “You look older,” she said, observing Lena.

Lena raised her eyebrows, taken aback by Kara’s comment. “You’re off to a flattering start, aren’t you?” she asked, although she didn’t take it as an insult. Her whole life people had told her how mature she was for her age, which meant they often guessed her age wrong.

“Oh gosh, I’m sorry!” Kara apologized, wincing at her mistake. “It’s just that… I’m nearing thirty and I thought you were my age,” she explained awkwardly. “My bad,” she whispered, needing to think first before saying such things.

“You look well for your age,” Lena jabbed, unable to resist. “I presume you know I am the owner of L-Corp,” she said, skipping ahead of that question.

“I do,” Kara confirmed, of course she knew. She doubted there was anyone in National City who didn’t know Lena Luthor. “I’m Miss Grant’s assistant, but I’m hoping to get a promotion someday.”

Lena kept her lips sealed when Kara offered her a soup bowl filled with muesli, which was about thrice the amount she’d normally consume. “Do you have any hobbies?” she asked, even though small talk wasn’t her forte. Whenever she did converse, she preferred deep meaningful conversations.

“Uhuh,” Kara hummed, nodding. “I like to spend time with my friends. Sometimes we have game nights which are super fun. We go to a dive bar sometimes to get some drinks. It’s a bar Maggie introduced my sister to. They’re basically dating, but I’m not sure if I was supposed to tell you that since my sister isn’t out-out yet and um… I didn’t tell you that either,” she rambled, pausing to take a breath.

Lena tried her best to keep up with Kara’s stream of words. If anything, the way she rambled was cute and surprisingly not annoying. She knew what it was like to not fully be out yet from when she was younger.

“Sometimes in my free time, I go to the animal shelter to walk dogs,” Kara continued. “I love animals! But the owner of this building won’t let me have one,” she explained, sighing. “One time I got in trouble for stealing a dog, but they were going to put him to sleep and I didn’t want that to happen. Alex said she took the dog so they wouldn’t fire me. Not that they can fire unpaid volunteers, though I could have lost access to the shelter.”

There were two things Lena knew for sure. One, Kara had a very protective older sister and two, she had a big heart. If she’d been in her shoes, she’d have stolen the dog as well, probably all of them even.

“Friends and stealing animals,” Lena mused. “Fascinating hobbies,” she said, smiling when Kara blushed.

“Yeah, so those are mine,” Kara replied, drowning her coco pops in milk. “What are yours?”

“Every Saturday I watch a movie and eat chocolate mousse,” Lena answered, not doing much else other than working a lot. Being a workaholic was her hobby, though she doubted Kara would let it count as one.

“That sounds more like a guilty pleasure, not a hobby,” Kara pointed out, frowning. “How about hanging out with friends?”

“Which friends?” Lena replied, having spoken too fast as Kara’s face went from horror to pity.

“Oh,” Kara whispered, staring down at her hands. “I can be your friend,” she offered, smiling satisfied with her solution.

“Are you certain?” Lena asked with a cautious smile. “I could have sworn you wanted me to be your wife.”

Kara blushed, badly. Dammit, Lena had to stop teasing her so much or she would internally combust. “Oh, wait, I forgot something!” she shouted, gasping. “I’m not sure if you’re… I kind of assumed…”

“I am a lesbian,” Lena stated calmly, unashamed. “You can say the word.”

“Um, I was going to say single,” Kara replied earnestly. “You’re so-” she swallowed the rest of her words down, blushing yet again. Luthor or not, she knew for sure many people would jump at the chance to be with Lena, whose body was as attractive as her brilliant mind.

Lena felt intrigued by Kara’s blush deepening more and more. “I am so…?” she inquired. “By all means, do finish that sentence, Miss Danvers.”

“You know,” Kara answered, vaguely gesturing at Lena’s body. Was it possible to die from blushing too much? “You’re so…,” she tried. “Attractive,” she finished in a whisper.

“When you proposed to me, how did you see this playing out in your mind?” Lena asked, unsure if Kara had thought to plan the details.

“We would get married and adopt a child together. Someone from the agency would follow us up for a few months to see if everything is working out okay. After a while that someone would leave us be, then we would get a divorce. You’d return to the life you know and I’d have the child I wanted,” Kara answered, really having thought about it more than Lena can possibly imagine. “I won’t expect any help of you with the child whatsoever, full responsibility falls on my shoulders. We would need to move, but it would only be temporary. I’ll make you breakfast and everything you want, I’ll even do your laundry.”

Lena always took her laundry to a drycleaner. There would be no need for Kara to do it for her and she was perfectly capable of providing her own meals.

“Look at it like living with a housekeeper,” Kara said. “Who happens to have a child,” she added. “I can move into a house where you can have your own personal office. I’ve been saving for a long time.”

Lena didn’t like the way Kara’s argument sounded. She would never take advantage of her by letting her be her housekeeper, especially not when she had an able body of her own. Partners are supposed to be equals, no matter the circumstances.

“If… if you say no, I still want to be your friend,” Kara whispered, offering Lena a barely there smile. “If that’s okay with you,” she added, not wanting to force her to be friends.

Lena took a deep breath, head swimming with cons and pros. She used to think that living in a small apartment would make her life simple and regular, but it hadn’t. There was no running away from being a Luthor, unless…

Kara frowned, tilting her head when Lena signaled at her to be silent, but she obeyed and sucked her lips into her mouth.

“I will marry you,” Lena said, weighing her words carefully as she caught on to how much Kara was struggling not to squeal. “However,” she added, holding a finger up. “It will be on my conditions; otherwise you are free to find another candidate.”

 


	4. Chapter 4

The prospect of conditions made Kara uneasy, mostly because she had no idea which conditions Lena would have. There was a lot she was willing to do to convince her neighbor to go on this adventure with her, although she did have limits. Finding another candidate wasn’t an option, because nobody else was suitable.

Winn would panic at the idea of having to spend even an hour in a room with a child. He was sweet and a dear friend, but he was nowhere near ready to be a parent. Not that she was looking for a second parent, only for a temporary partner, though it still mattered.

James had been rekindling with an old flame of his and she’d hate to get in between that. He might have said yes, but the problem was that he’d have wanted to keep his part. She knew him and she didn’t have to ask to know he would refuse to walk out on her and the child she would adopt.

With limited options, Lena stood out with head and shoulders. It helped that she happened to like her, a lot. She had no idea on Lena’s stance when it came down to children, but she did know she was friendly and always seemed willing to help. Another factor which played a role was Lena’s position in this city. Surely the adoption agencies would be eager to let a Luthor adopt a child to gain publicity.

“Okay, that’s understandable,” Kara said after a long pause. “What are your conditions?” she asked, hoping she would be able to fulfill them.

Without Lena she might have to consider James after all, which wasn’t ideal because she didn’t feel for him that way. It would be unfair to him to marry him when she’d be counting down for that divorce from day one, knowing he’d refuse to part. Split custody was definitely not in her plans.

Lena held her hand up and went to retrieve her laptop, turning it on. Under Kara’s silent gaze, she opened up a document and began to type a contract. If anything, she was a businesswoman at heart, which meant there couldn’t be any loose strings.

It crossed her mind that tricking the adoption agency was a felony. However, their marriage would be legal, even though it was only intended to be temporary. To be sure, she decided to keep the contract between Kara and her. The last thing she’d need was for one of her lawyers to sell her out.

“When we get married, I shall take your last name,” Lena stated. She looked at Kara, waiting for her confirmation before typing it down. Once she nodded, she did, relieved that for a few months she’d be able to neglect the Luthor name.

Kara wondered if all of Lena’s conditions were going to be so easy to agree with. Of course she’d let her wife to be take her surname. Heck, she’d even have agreed to take Lena’s last name if she had asked her to.

“You mentioned you were going to buy a house for us to live in,” Lena continued, typing away. “My next condition is that I find and buy us a suitable house. The house will be assigned to your name, consider it a wedding gift.”

“Umm… Lena, I…,” Kara replied, shaking her head. “I saved money to buy a house, it’s too expensive to let you buy one,” she said, eyes wide. “And technically, our guests are the ones who give wedding gifts.”

“It is one of my conditions,” Lena stated sharply, a tad harsher than she had meant to.

Even if Kara did save a lot of money, there was no way Miss Grant’s assistant could afford a decent house _and_ have enough money left to raise a child. With all the money Lena had, buying a house was like losing pocket change. She wanted Kara to hold on to the money she saved for the sake of the child. Surely the adoption must cost a fortune already.

“Okay,” Kara breathed out, shoulders slumping.

“No family of mine shall live in a small house in an unfit neighborhood,” Lena said, despite said family being temporary. No, she would find a nice home near school and near the park where Kara would be able to properly raise her child.

“Can I arrange our wedding?” Kara asked, chewing her bottom lip. “It’ll probably sound silly,” she said with a nervous chuckle, “but I’ve dreaming about marriage since I was six.”

Lena stopped typing, taking a minute to drink Kara in. Their wedding was going to be the next thing she was going to bring up, having some conditions there, too. She sighed, sensing how much all of this seemed to mean to Kara and she couldn’t stand the thought of breaking that smile.

“I want our wedding to be small and private,” Lena said as she resumed typing. She could see Kara’s smile fading away the second she said it. “Small meaning friends and family only, no strangers or vague acquaintances and certainly no press,” she explained, relieved when Kara’s smile returned. “Other than that, you have free reign, but please don’t give our guests diabetes with a wedding cake chockfull of sugar.”

Kara laughed and felt lighter. “I can do that!” she replied, looking forward to it. Many times she’d thought of which flowers she’d want, which cake, what kind of dress she would want to wear – Vera Wang, always Vera Wang. “Our guests may have to visit the dentist after our wedding though,” she added, to draw a laugh out of Lena.

“I’ll make sure to add a note to our wedding invitations that no dental insurance is included,” Lena chuckled.

“I must be dreaming,” Kara whispered, feeling beyond happy. “Pinch me,” she said, holding her arm out to Lena.

“Let’s save the kinky stuff for another time,” Lena replied, softly pushing Kara’s arm away. There was that blush again, beautiful and easily one of her favorite things about Kara Danvers.

Kara shuffled closer towards Lena, who was still typing their contract. “What’s that?” she asked, murmuring as she rested her head against Lena’s shoulder.

Lena tensed. She ignored the odd feeling in the pit of her stomach at the contact and relaxed. “I am listing you as co-owner of L-Corp,” she answered, feeling Kara move away from her abruptly.

“Co-owner?” Kara gasped, staring open-mouthed at Lena. “But I could take half of everything you have when we divorce, why would you do that?” she asked, confused as to why her neighbor would take such a risk. Not that she was out to pluck her or would ever do that, but still.

“Because you wouldn’t take half, you wouldn’t take anything at all,” Lena replied knowingly. “You only want the child,” she reminded Kara.

If her neighbor would take half, Lena could very easily demand shared custody of the child. Though if she was being honest with herself, she knew she would never do that, even if Kara would drain her from all she has.

“Right,” Kara said, nodding. “Do you have any other conditions?”

“Yes,” Lena answered, sighing as she put her laptop aside. This part didn’t need to be placed in their contract. “I wish for us to be equals in marriage. You will not be my housekeeper and I will do what I can to pull my weight.”

Kara definitely needed to have a serious word with her sister about her opinion on Lena. Not only was her neighbor helping her out to adopt a child, she was also buying her a house, giving her co-ownership of her company and offering to help out with chores.

“I call dibs on paying for our wedding,” Kara said quickly, which was another thing she had saved money for.

Lena smiled as her eyes lit up. “I admire your ability to dream,” she replied, absolutely not going to let Kara pay.

“Lena, you have to let me pay something,” Kara argued, a crinkle settling between her eyebrows. “You want us to be equals, don’t you?”

If Kara’s blush wasn’t already her favorite, Lena would say her determined attitude was. She felt impressed by the checkmate Kara pulled on her by using her own words against her. Pressing her lips into a tight line, she nodded.

“Great,” Kara said, smiling as she clapped her hands together. “You’re the best, Lena,” she said, hugging her and kissing her cheek. It must have been a mistake because Lena froze and her face grew dangerously pale again. “Please don’t faint again.”

Lena had to take several deep breaths, shocked as she processed how spontaneously Kara had hugged her and kissed her cheek. It was rare for her and her neighbor had no idea. She could get used to it though, now that she passed her initial shock.

“I will print our contract so you can sign it,” Lena said, schooling her emotions. “This will be all for now. I’ll call you.”

“Right, of course,” Kara replied, heading towards the door. She’d wanted to hug Lena again, but she couldn’t risk having her faint. “I’ll see you around. Thank you so much for helping me, you’re my hero.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lena is a softie. What kind of conditions had you speculated? :)


	5. Chapter 5

_You’re my hero._

The words rung in Lena’s ears as her driver stopped the car around the corner of the park. She couldn’t believe what she was doing, but she didn’t regret it. Her whole life her every move had been calculated, save from this one. It was an impulse, taking a leap.

“We have arrived, Miss Luthor,” Lena’s driver said, opening the door for her.

“Thank you, Daniel,” Lena replied, accepting his hand as she got out of the limousine.

Daniel smiled and shut the door behind her. “I shall wait here, Miss,” he said, making a move to get back in the limousine.

“Say, Daniel,” Lena said, halting her driver by resting a hand on his upper arm. “Would you be so kind to accompany me? I can use a second opinion.”

“Yes, Miss Luthor,” Daniel answered, signaling at her to lead the way.

Lena placed her sunglasses in her hair as she walked up to the house she would be visiting today. It was the seventh house she’d be visiting in the span of four hours, but she was set on finding the right one. With her checkbook in her purse, money was not an issue. She’d be able to buy every house in the street if she so pleased.

“Hello,” the real estate broker said. It was a woman who looked like she was in her mid-thirties. “You must be Miss Luthor.”

“The one and only,” Lena confirmed, formal as she shook the woman’s hand. “And this is Daniel, my driver,” she said, gesturing at Daniel. She added the driver part purely to avoid having the real estate broker assume they would be together, considering it did bother her when people thought of her as straight.

“Welcome,” the real estate broker said with a practiced smile. “My name is Samantha and I will be showing you around today. Shall we?”

“Time is money,” Lena nodded, needing to attend a meeting in two hours with Mister Hiyashi, one of her biggest clients.

The house was a stand-alone with a garden surrounding it. There was a driveway to the side with a garage big enough to fit a family car. Across from the house, the park could be seen. There was plenty of light falling into the house through the large windows, which could only be seen through from the inside, not the outside.

“Here we have the living room,” Samantha said, pointing at the wide open space. “These tiles can be heated up to warm the house, without burning your feet of course.”

Lena appreciated that detail. The last house she’d visited had an open fire-place, which is far too dangerous for a child. Her eye fell onto the stairs, in particular what was in front of it.

“The sellers made their house child-proof,” Samantha said, following Lena’s gaze. “It can be taken down, at no extra cost of course.”

“That shall not be necessary,” Lena replied, walking over to the kitchen. “What do you think, Daniel?” she asked, glancing at the spotless kitchen.

“This looks brand new,” Daniel answered, observing the kitchen. “I see there is a child-proof lock on the refrigerator.”

Lena smiled as she looked at it, wondering if Kara would be able to pry it open. She did like the living room and the kitchen, but she had yet to see the rest of the house. It all had a tight modern look to it. She hadn’t expected all of the walls to be white, though it appeared freshly painted.

“Follow me if you wish to see the rest,” Samantha said, standing halfway on the stairs. “Upstairs we have three bedrooms, a bathroom and an office space.”

The first bedroom had clearly belonged to children, observing from the two names on the wall with lines drawn next to them.

Lena raked her fingers across the lines, remembering how her mother never allowed her to do something like this. It seemed to be a tradition amongst most families and it gave houses a soul. She’d have to paint over it, of course, so Kara could do this for her child if she wished to.

“Five couples have placed a bid so far,” Samantha said as she showed the second bedroom. “Three more will be visiting today and tomorrow. This house will be off of the market fast.”

Lena didn’t believe each word Samantha said, considering as a businesswoman she knew better, but she did believe it would be sold quickly. The corners of her eyes crinkled as she revealed her checkbook, having seen enough to know she’d take it.

“If the current owners can hand the key to me by the end of this week, I am willing to pay what they ask plus thirty percent,” Lena offered, clicking her pen. “Sixty percent if it’s tomorrow.”

Samantha’s eyes went round as she scrambled to find her phone. “I will call them right away for you, Miss Luthor,” she said, dialing a number.

“Glad to see you will be moving out of that shoe-box of an apartment,” Daniel whispered to Lena. “Parking spaces are much easier to find in this part of the city.”

Lena smiled at the familiarity Daniel used to speak to her. He’d been her driver since elementary, always picking her up and dropping her off, which was something her mother never did.

 

 

* * *

 

 

The bartender placed a second round of drinks onto their table, which Maggie paid for.

“What’s up, little Danvers?” Maggie asked, wrapping her fingers around her glass. “Something’s been on the tip of your tongue since you walked in here. Spill,” she said, taking a generous sip from her glass.

“I think I know where this is going,” Alex mumbled, running a hand through her hair.

Kara’s lips broke into a smile. “Lena said yes!” she blurted out, almost knocking her glass over. “She’s going to marry me!”

Alex choked on her drink and coughed when Maggie hit her back. “You’re saying Lena Luthor… said yes… to your crazy proposal?” she asked, perplexed.

“You must have some game,” Maggie said, whistling. She cleared her throat and averted her eyes when Alex glared at her.

“She does have some conditions,” Kara said, eyes flicking towards her glass.

Alex scoffed. “I’m not surprised,” she replied, shaking her head. “Luthors can’t be trusted. I should have hauled you out of that apartment. Of course she’s trying to take advantage of you.”

“Enough!” Kara snapped, face red as the liquid that had been in her glass dribbled down the table. “I don’t like the way you talk about her. She’s not taking advantage of me. She’s helping me and if you can’t see how amazing she is then you should shut up!”

“Whoa, easy there,” Maggie said, signaling at Kara to sit down again.

“I’m sorry,” Alex whispered, heaving out a sigh. “I was out of line,” she admitted, shoulders slumping.

“I’m sorry, too,” Kara apologized, sighing deeply as she sat down. “I didn’t mean to snap at you,” she said, although it was hard not to when the things Alex said made her angry.

“I’m happy for you that you’re getting what you want,” Alex said, more cautious this time. “What’s going to happen next?”

“I’m going to arrange our wedding,” Kara answered, beaming. “But… I could use some help, so I was hoping… maybe…you know, you two could help,” she said, grimacing at the bartender who came to clean up the mess she’d created.

“I got it,” Alex said, taking the wet cloth and the napkins from the bartender. “Sorry about that.”

“I’ll check my agenda,” Maggie said to Kara, pulling out a pocketbook that fit in her hand. “During my free time I don’t mind helping and I can probably recommend a few caterers who’ve done the weddings I’ve been to.”

“My boss’ been demanding for me to take some vacation,” Alex said, groaning lightly. “I guess I might as well take some time off now to help my kid sister plan her wedding.”

“Thank you!” Kara chirped. “You two are the best!”

“When is it anyway?” Maggie asked, pen in hand as she waited.

“Umm… well… um,” Kara answered, fidgeting with her glasses. “I sort of don’t know yet.”

Maggie’s eyebrows drew together as she met Alex’s eyes. “Are you sure you two are related?” she asked, snorting.

“I was going to prick a date soon,” Kara said, in her defense, “maybe somewhere in July.”

“That’s next month,” Alex pointed out. “I doubt you can get a spot that fast, unless you hitchhike to Vegas.”

“Babe,” Maggie said quietly, nudging Alex’s side. “She’s going to marry Lena Luthor, one phone call from her and they’d be married tonight if they wanted to.”

Kara took her phone and sent a text to Lena to ask her if it was okay to get married in a month and to ask if she could call to make a reservation. “Let’s get started,” she said, eyes twinkling. “I can’t wait to go cake tasting. Oh by the way, I can use major help to lick the envelopes for all the invitations I’m going to send out.”

“Why not let the dogs at the shelter lick ‘em?” Maggie suggested. “Might as well save us some time and paper cuts.”

 


	6. Chapter 6

From before they’d stepped into the limousine, Lena could tell Kara had never been in one. It took her some convincing to persuade her to get in rather than walking the whole distance. There was no way she would walk all those blocks whilst wearing high heels when it already took twenty minutes to get there by car.

Kara sat close to the window, peering out of the dark-tinted glass. She bounced her leg, waiting for the surprise Lena had for her to be revealed. In the back of her mind she thought it could be a house, but that would be ridiculously fast because it had only been two days since she signed the contract with Lena’s conditions.

“Daniel, will you put the radio on so we can listen to music?” Lena asked her driver, sensing Kara’s nervousness. She knew the blonde liked to sing, from the way she often heard her sing in her apartment. The owner really had to do something about those thin walls.

“Right away, Miss Luthor,” Daniel answered, turning the radio on.

Lena scrunched up her face when classical cello music began to play. “Something modern, please,” she said, relieved when Kara's eyes went from saucers back to their usual size as Daniel changed the channel. “Classical music helps me clear my mind sometimes,” she whispered to Kara, shooting her an apologetic look.

Kara wouldn’t mind listening to classical music, but it was so sweet of Lena to put music on for her that she said nothing about it. Instead, she opened her mouth to silently sing along with the music.

When they were near the park, Lena signaled at her driver to go around the block once more while Kara wasn’t looking at her. She didn’t want him to pull over just yet because a song was playing and Kara was singing along with it.

“Oh… my… gosh…,” Kara whispered, bringing her hands up to her mouth as she saw the house. “This place is huge!”

“It is one-hundred percent yours,” Lena said, dangling the keys in front of Kara. “Would you like a tour?”

Kara bobbed her head up and down rapidly, too impressed to remember how to form words. There was no way she would have ever been able to afford a house like this, not even a quarter of it. Her head felt like it was spinning as she wondered how Lena was able to buy a house in two days’ time.

Within an hour, Kara stood in the kitchen, eyes glossy as a tremor ran down her spine. “It’s so beautiful,” she whispered, tears springing from her eyes. “I love it,” she said, hugging the refrigerator.

“Given we have been standing in the kitchen for the past hour, I’d say you’ve made that abundantly clear,” Lena replied, fishing a pack of tissues out of her purse to hand them to Kara. “Not to rush you, but I made dinner reservations for us, so you may wish to speed things along.”

“Dinner reservations?” Kara repeated, releasing the refrigerator to scoop Lena into her arms instead. “I could marry – oh, wait, I am going to marry you.”

“You, Miss Danvers, are a dork,” Lena said, exhaling as she brought her arms up to hug Kara back. “ _My_ dork,” she added, whispering.

Kara was happy they were hugging so Lena couldn’t see her face, because she was sure her cheeks couldn’t possibly get any redder. Meanwhile, her stomach was doing a summersault. It felt good to be called Lena’s.

“This house is perfect, I really appreciate this gift,” Kara whispered, absentmindedly rubbing Lena’s back.

When their hug broke, Lena showed Kara the rest of the house in the span of seven minutes. She’d have taken it slower, but she hadn’t anticipated her fiancée would spend an hour in the kitchen alone. It was a relief that Kara seemed to love the house so much and given how fast their marriage would take place, followed up by the adoption of a child, it was a good thing she paid sixty percent on top of the price to get the keys right away.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Kara bit her lip as she studied the menu-card. Everything on it looked pricy, for a meal here she could easily pay for five elsewhere. “Hmm,” she hummed, frowning. “These salads could be nice,” she said thoughtfully, seeing they were the most affordable on the menu.

“Kara,” Lena said softly, reaching her hand over the table to place it on top of hers. “Does my paying for this make you uncomfortable?” she asked, giving her hand a squeeze.

“Um…,” Kara whispered, swallowing thickly. She knew Lena was merely being polite and that she was capable of affording this, but she wasn’t used to live with such luxury.

“You never have to be afraid to speak your mind,” Lena said, interested to hear Kara’s thoughts.

“Okay,” Kara replied, exhaling audibly. “I appreciate that you made this dinner reservation, but it’s too much,” she said, taking her hand back as she closed the menu-card. “First you buy me a house, which I know was one of your conditions, but still. And now you’re taking me to this restaurant which is way beyond my paycheck. I’d have been happy with a pizza or spaghetti or even a hotdog.”

For Lena those things were close to normal, but for Kara they clearly weren’t. She may have overdone it by bringing her here to this restaurant. Perhaps she should have asked which kind of food her fiancée would like to eat.

“You listed me as co-owner of L-Corp, which is incredible, but I’m fine with being Miss Grant’s assistant so I can work my way up from there,” Kara continued, getting it all off of her chest. “I work hard for what I have and I don’t want things to be thrown into my lap just like that. This feels overwhelming and I know you have conditions and you’re probably a lot more overwhelmed than I am because of what I asked, but I don’t want to change who I am. And this restaurant, the expensive gifts… that’s not me.”

Lena nodded slowly as Kara’s words sunk in. “Better?” she asked, smiling just a little.

“Yeah,” Kara breathed out.

“You may continue to work for Miss Grant if you wish. Your name shall remain listed as co-owner of L-Corp, though you have no obligations whatsoever to the company. If at any point you do wish to work at L-Corp, you are more than welcome and if not, no hard feelings,” Lena said, taking Kara’s feelings to heart. She admired her fiancée’s strong spirit, which was a rare trait.

Kara nodded, hoping she hadn’t ruined their night. She knew Lena meant well, but she didn’t like to be bought, even if it happened unintentionally.

Lena stood up and tipped the waiter, even though they hadn’t ordered anything. “What is your favorite food?” she asked Kara as they walked outside together. She shook her head at her driver, deciding to have a walk instead.

Kara peered at the limousine, surprised when Lena walked past it. “Pizza and potstickers,” she answered, licking her lips. “It’s divine.”

“Divine, hm?” Lena replied, happy to see Kara smiling. “I must try it then.”

“Oh, you’re going to be in for a surprise,” Kara said, grinning as she took Lena’s hand to lead the way. “Sorry,” she mumbled, dropping her hand. She couldn’t just drag her fiancée around like that.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“You can’t go in there, Miss Luthor is occupied!”

“I shall call you back, Mister Hiyashi,” Lena said into her phone before hanging up. She raised an eyebrow as Kara’s sister entered her office, unannounced. “It is alright, Jess,” she said, dismissing her secretary.

Alex took a few long strides towards Lena’s desk, eyes ablaze. She paused about a meter away from the desk, sighing as her expressions softened. “Listen, I don’t know what your motives are,” she said, placing her hands on her hips. “But you better not…Just, please don’t hurt Kara,” she whispered, sounding defeated. “She’s been through a lot.”

“I have no intentions of inflicting harm upon Kara or anyone for that matter,” Lena replied truthfully. “Aside from that one neighbor who thinks he’s the next Beyonce while he sounds like a dying cat. I make no promises when it comes down to him,” she added lightly.

Alex hadn’t imagined she’d be smiling, but what Lena said and the way she had said it made her smile. “I think I judged you wrong,” she said, tilting her head a little to the right as she observed Lena. “As long as you don’t hurt my sister, you and I won’t have any problems.”

“Noted,” Lena nodded, understanding Alex’s need to protect Kara. “I know what it is like to care for someone so deeply you’d do anything to keep them safe,” she said, sighing as she turned her chair to gaze out of the window. “Before everything went downhill with Lex, I protected him. I stood up for him because he was my brother. Until I realized it was others who needed protection from him, so I phoned the police.”

“Wait, back up a minute,” Alex said, grabbing the arms of Lena’s chair and spinning her around to face her, trapping her between her arms. “You were the anonymous caller who gave away Lex’s hiding spot? You were the one who helped the police to lock him up?”

“He was no longer the brother I once knew,” Lena answered coolly.

Alex backed away. “I guess I owe you an apology,” she said, dropping her arms to her side. “I’m about to meet up with my gi- my friend for drinks. Care to join us?”

“I can’t possibly say no to a beautiful lady inviting me for drinks,” Lena said, gauging Alex’s reaction as she stood up. “Especially not when it involves two ladies,” she added, going a step further. “This must be my lucky night.”

“Save the flirting for my sister, whom you’re going to marry soon,” Alex replied, shaking her head as she walked towards the door. “And Maggie’s mine, so don’t even think about it,” she called over her shoulder. “I mean… shit,” she cursed, flinching.

“Coming out can be difficult, but the air is better outside of the closet,” Lena said, opening the door for Alex. “If someone gives you a tough time for it, as your sister in law, I could have them evicted from our country.”

Alex chuckled and managed a smile. “You’re not so bad,” she replied, sizing Lena up from head to toe.

“You’re not bad yourself,” Lena teased, smiling when Alex actually blushed. “I will take it down a notch,” she promised, because she wasn’t out to flirt with Alex.

“I’m still new to all of this,” Alex confessed, toying with her zipper. “What was it like for you when you came out?”

 


	7. Chapter 7

“You could say I rolled out of the closet rather than came out of it when my mother caught me in a compromising position with the girl next door,” Lena said with a low chuckle as the chilling night air tickled her skin.

“No way,” Alex replied, gasping before she chuckled too. “I’m glad my mother never walked in on me like that, but there was never anything to walk in to. It took me a long time to realize that I’m…,” she said, moving her hands around. “That I don’t like men, like that, because I’m…a lesbian.”

“Maggie?” Lena asked, having a hunch.

“Yes,” Alex answered, confirming as she nodded. “She was my wakeup call and she supported me to come out to my sister, so I did. I’m still working on the whole coming out thing, but it never stops, you know?”

Lena knew all too well how coming out or rolling out never stopped. There would always be people who didn’t know. “I am happy for you that you found a special lady,” she said sincerely. “It is quite helpful when you are not alone.”

“Yeah,” Alex replied, smiling. “And now I have two special ladies who help me,” she said, winking at Lena while she blushed.

Lena smiled, feeling proud of Alex’s attempt at flirting.

“I hope motorcycles don’t scare you,” Alex said, approaching her motorcycle. She tossed Lena her spare helmet. “You may want to hold on because I sure won’t hold back.”

“Leather jacket and a motorcycle, I am officially impressed,” Lena said, winking before putting the helmet on. “Are you certain you had no idea until recently that you are a lesbian?” she joked carefully.

“I was practically saying hi to Aslan and I still had no idea,” Alex answered, swinging her leg over her motorcycle. “Hop on, Lena,” she said, patting the space behind her. “I wouldn’t want to keep my lady waiting.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

It’s a Saturday morning when Kara pries Lena away from her apartment. She had to bat her eyelashes more than once to convince her fiancée to spend this day with her rather than going to work.

Lena looked down at her feet, thankfully wearing flats rather than heels. They’d been walking for over fifteen minutes now. “Can you give me a hint?” she asked, glancing at Kara who had been smiling non-stop.

“Nu-uh,” Kara answered, shaking her head. “It’s a surprise,” she said, picking up her pace.

“You seem to be in quite a rush,” Lena noted. “Do we have to arrive at a specific time at a specific place?”

“I’m not going to give you a hint, Lena,” Kara chuckled, thinking it was a nice try. “Come on, it’s not much further,” she said, stretching her hand out towards Lena.

Lena stared at Kara’s hand. Holding hands was foreign to her, but to avoid saddening her fiancée, she slipped her hand in hers. If they were going to pretend to be together for a few months, they might as well make it look real.

Kara ignored the butterflies in her stomach as she blushed. She didn’t know whether to love or hate how well Lena’s hand fitted in hers, knowing this was all temporary. Liking her fiancée, really liking her, was the only flaw in her plan, because she knew it was going to hurt once they’d no longer need to pretend for the adoption agency.

Lena frowned when Kara swung their arms as they walked. She felt tempted to free her hand, considering this wasn’t her.

“We’re here!” Kara shouted, smiling brightly as she let go of Lena’s hand.

“The animal shelter?” Lena asked, eyeing the building.

“Yes,” Kara confirmed. “We’re going to walk dogs together today.”

Lena hadn’t been this close to dogs since she was adopted at age four. As a toddler she owned a dog, but her memories of him were vague at best. She used to ask her mother for a dog sometimes, but she always said no and claimed to be allergic.

The stray dogs she fed never came close to her. They were always hiding in the shadows, not revealing themselves until she had distanced herself enough for their taste. She thought that one day they’d trust her enough to allow her closer, but she wouldn’t blame them if they never did.

Kara grabbed a harness and smiled at a golden retriever with mocha brown eyes, who was waggling his tail. “Hey, buddy,” she said, opening the cage to pet him. “I’m happy to see you, too, and I brought a friend today.”

Lena took a step back when the dog made a move to jump up against her.

“I think he likes you,” Kara said, putting the leash on the dog. “You can pet him if you want, he’s very soft.”

With some reservations, Lena stuck her hand out to pet the dog. His fur was silky smooth and warm. She frowned when Kara thrust the leash into her hands.

“Go on,” Kara encouraged. “He’s a very good boy,” she said, having chosen the easiest dog to walk, since it was Lena’s first time.

Lena glanced at the other cages, watching how dogs jumped up against them, barking as they waggled their tails. “How many dogs will we be walking today?” she asked, guessing that every dog would be dying to go for a walk.

“As many as we can,” Kara answered, grabbing another harness so she could walk a dog as well. She chuckled when the golden retriever and the Labrador she was about to walk jumped up against her at the same time, licking her face. “Yes, boys,” she said, laughing as she tried to push them away. “You’ll get a treat soon,” she promised, keeping them in her pockets for now.

“Lucky them,” Lena commented. “They get to jump in your arms and receive a treat for it,” she said, her heart fluttering when Kara blushed.

“If you want to jump in my arms you won’t see me stopping you,” Kara replied, despite her rapidly darkening blush.

“I suppose that would be a treat at the same time,” Lena said, winking. God, flirting was fun and she hadn’t flirted this much since college. The way Kara responded to her with a blush and all only spurred her on.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Lena skimmed through the documents the interior decorator had laid out. She had hired one to decorate the child’s bedroom, as a surprise for Kara. Their wedding was closing in with only two weeks left and it was important to finish this room by then.

So far she already arranged a place where they could party after their wedding and she took care of the catering. Here and there she had paid for a few things when Kara hadn’t noticed. She really did want her fiancée to save as much money as she could for the child.

“I can paint this room pink or blue,” the interior decorator suggested. “Most people choose one of those two colors, depending on the gender of their child.”

“No,” Lena replied, disliking those suggestions. “I want this room to be neutral, not gender-specified,” she said, partially because she had no idea if Kara would adopt a boy or a girl.

“Okay,” the interior decorator said, showing another color palette. “How about a soft baby green?” she asked, pointing at a few shades of green.

Lena nodded in approval. The green looked relaxing, which could be good for a child.

“I’ll have it painted today and once the paint is dry, my team will bring the furniture in,” the interior decorator said with a smile.

“There have to be a few stuffed animals,” Lena said, recalling how as a child, she used to have a teddy bear.

She would buy toys as well, but it was difficult buying toys for a child when she had no idea what would be suitable and how old the child would be. Plus, she had to make sure she didn’t overdo the surprise to avoid making Kara uncomfortable. Toys could always be bought later, gradually.

Glancing at her watch, she saw that she only had half an hour left to get the keys duplicated. She had promised Kara she would arrange it, considering her fiancée wanted Alex to have a key as well. It had seemed odd to her at first and a violation of privacy if Alex would randomly walk in whenever she pleased, until she learned they always kept a key to each other’s place.

She compromised with Kara that Alex could have a key, but not anyone else. It wouldn’t be ideal either way, but she hoped Alex would have the decency and respect to ring their door when she visits.

“Would you be so kind to buy children’s clothes?” Lena asked the interior decorator. “You can charge them to me and I will pay you extra for it,” she said, not having the time or the patience to do such shopping herself.

“Certainly, Miss Luthor,” the interior decorator answered with a smile. “Are the clothes for a boy or a girl? And which age?”

“I wish I knew,” Lena whispered to herself. She cleared her throat. “Buy clothes for both, ranging from a newborn to say three years old,” she answered, nodding. “That should cover it,” she said, ignoring the way the interior decorator stared at her. “Or actually, make it five years old, just in case.”

Whichever clothes would be left could be kept for the child to grow into and the rest could be gifted to goodwill. It wasn’t a gift for Kara per se. It was a gift for the child, so it didn’t count as always paying for things. She could tell her fiancée it came with the surprise of the room.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Ten pounds of sugar spread out over the floor as the bag fell through the box, along with a bunch of spices. Kara cringed and rushed to get her vacuum cleaner to clean it up.

“Is that… sugar?” Lena asked, eyeing the mess Kara made. She had crossed the hall when she had heard things drop, to see if her fiancée was okay.

“What? Hah… y-no,” Kara answered, plugging her vacuum cleaner in. “It’s um…salt that looks like sugar,” she explained, wishing she’d have shut her door.

Not convinced, Lena crouched down and pricked her finger in it, bringing it up to her lips. “Salt that looks like sugar and tastes like sugar,” she mused, lifting an eyebrow.

“Oh, that was sugar?” Kara replied, too high-pitched. She laughed awkwardly. “I can’t believe I’ve had sugar all this time.”

“You are the world’s most terrible liar, Miss Danvers,” Lena said, chuckling. “You’d rather have me believe your lie than believe you used sugar as an excuse to show up at my door several times?”

“Okay, fine,” Kara admitted, sighing. “It was an excuse to say hello to you.”

“I think it’s sweet,” Lena replied, not minding one bit.

“You really think my excuse was sweet?” Kara asked, failing miserably to conceal her blush.

“No, the sugar,” Lena answered, smirking when Kara lightly slapped her arm. “Can I help you pack anything? I’m done packing in my apartment and I made no plans today.”

“Sure,” Kara nodded. “I’m just going to vacuum this up before ants decide this could be a good place for their new colony,” she said, gesturing at the crazy amount of spilt sugar.

“I might have to reconsider your housekeeping offer if you’re a klutz,” Lena teased.

“Your klutz,” Kara corrected, wanting to get back at Lena for making her blush all the time. It seemed to work because her fiancée’s cheeks tinted pink.

Lena hadn’t even moved into the house with Kara yet and she already felt at a loss with her developing interest in her, which she knew for a fact to be mutual. Although the odds were high that Kara only liked her as a friend.

“It’s not too late to change your mind,” Kara said, willing to negotiate Lena’s conditions if she’d want to. “About… about the housekeeping thing,” she added, chest heaving as panic washed over her like a tidal wave when she realized Lena could still say no at the altar instead of I do.

Sensing Kara’s distress, Lena approached her and pulled her into a hug. “I am a woman of my word, Kara,” she assured her, caressing her back. Damn, her fiancée’s coconut shampoo smelled amazing. “I won’t break our contract.”

Kara nuzzled her face in Lena’s neck, wishing they could stay like this for a long time because she wasn’t ready to let go yet. The only thing that was better than holding Lena was being held by her. She could feel her fiancée’s hands move up and down her back, soothingly.

Lena smiled when a _not yet_ was whispered in her ear as she was about to let go. She inhaled deeply, welcoming the coconut scent while she hugged Kara tighter. “I wouldn’t dream of it,” she whispered, and he could have sworn she heard the tiniest gasp, but it was so faint she wasn’t sure if she’d imagined it. 

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is longer than others, hope you enjoy ;)  
> I'd have waited until tomorrow to post it, but I couldn't wait anymore.

“Don’t cry, Alex,” Kara said, her lip quivering. “If you cry, then I’m going to cry, too.”

“My kid sister is getting married today,” Alex sniffled, wiping at her eyes. “I can’t believe this,” she said, smiling through her tears. “Dad would have been so happy for you.”

Kara no longer managed to hold her tears back. Thank god for waterproof mascara. “Come here,” she said, drawing her sister into her arms.

“You look so, so beautiful,” Alex said, hugging her sister tightly.

“Of course I do,” Kara replied, feeling confident. “It’s Vera Wang, what did you expect?”

Alex chuckled and grabbed a napkin to dry her eyes. “You’ve done a good job to pull this off in a month,” she said, nodding in approval. “The white lilies everywhere are a nice touch.”

“Yeah,” Kara hummed, happy that the wedding of her dreams was coming together. “I had help from the best sister in the world and her girlfriend.”

She was in a room where she had gotten changed, waiting until the ceremony would begin. Then she would leave the room and see Lena at the altar. She asked her sister to be her best man, who had immediately said yes. A week ago she had asked her fiancée if she found a best man and she said she did, though she doesn’t know who.

“Here,” Alex said, handing her sister a napkin.

“Thanks,” Kara replied, smiling as she wiped her tears away. Not that it would make much of a difference because soon she’d be crying tears of joy all over again. “Lena is going to take my last name,” she revealed, having kept that to herself until now.

“She told me,” Alex replied, smiling at her sister’s confusion. “We hung out a couple of times.”

Kara gasped. “How come you two didn’t tell me?” she asked, holding a hand to her heart. It meant her sister must have tried to bond with Lena, which she appreciated.

“You might have killed me if I had told you I was going to gay clubs with your fiancée,” Alex answered, smiling mischievously as her eyes sparkled. “Hey, hey, Maggie was there, too,” she added when Kara threw her napkin at her.

“I can’t believe Lena is going to be my wife soon,” Kara whispered, reality dawning on her. “I have secretly liked her for so long and oh gosh, we’re going to kiss.”

“Secretly, sure, let’s go with that,” Alex replied, backing away when her sister pushed her. “In all seriousness though, I know you like her, but please try not to get your hopes up too much.”

“I know,” Kara sighed.

She was going to have the wedding she’d been dreaming about for twenty-three years and it was going to be one that was only meant to last a few months, which was a detail she hadn’t told Eliza. Maybe she should have been honest with her adoptive mother, but she had been so happy that the words failed her. On the other hand, she knew Lena hadn’t been honest with her mother either. In Lillian’s case, sadly, it was to keep her from reporting them.

“I’m going to have the family I wanted,” Kara said with a small smile.

“Tonight when the party ends, I hope you’ll be drunk enough to go easy on Maggie,” Alex said, averting her eyes to look at the ceiling.

“Why?” Kara asked, crossing her arms. “ _Alex_ ….”

“My girlfriend arranged a particular wedding gift for you and Lena,” Alex answered, rubbing her arm. “You’ll see tonight.”

Kara was about to try and pry it out of her sister just as Eliza walked in. Her adoptive mother was crying, which made her cry as well. This was going to be a day of many tears and smiles.

“Oh, honey,” Eliza said, hugging Kara. “If only Jeremiah could see you now, he would be so proud and so would your parents.”

A part of Kara wanted to believe Jeremiah and her parents were smiling down upon her, watching one of the most important days of her life. She’d always known she would only want to get married once and this was it.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Maggie whistled as Lena spun around.

“What do you think?” Lena asked, looking down at her wedding dress. It revealed a fair amount of her cleavage while keeping it classy.

“If I wasn’t dating the best thing that ever happened to me and if you weren’t about to get married today, I’d ask you out,” Maggie answered bluntly. “Looking good, little Luthor,” she said, frowning when Lena winced.

“Lena, please,” Lena insisted gently. She sighed, after today she’d only be a Luthor by blood for a few months, until the divorce would be final, but that was something she didn’t want to think about yet.

“Lena, then,” Maggie replied, humming as she observed her.

Lena sat down, about to cry while she should be smiling.

“Hey,” Maggie said, crouching down in front of Lena. “What’s troubling you?”

“Aside from my driver being ill who was supposed to be my best man and my mother refusing to come to my wedding, I’m peachy,” Lena answered, scoffing. “I saw Kara’s side of the aisle filling up and do you know who’s sitting at my side of the aisle?” she asked, a bitter taste in her mouth because she didn’t have any guests of her own. It shocked her that she’d answered Maggie’s question so truthfully. Maybe she was being far too emotional.

“Yeah, I do,” Maggie answered, determined. “Me, I’ll be sitting at your side of the aisle and if you’ll have me, I’ll be your best man.”

Lena blinked her eyes a few times, mouth agape. “Why are you being so kind to me?” she asked, confused. She knew they met a few times when they went clubbing, but they weren’t even friends.

“When I was fourteen, my parents kicked me out for being gay and I didn’t have any friends, I was the outcast,” Maggie answered, shrugging. “I’m not going to let you stand there thinking you’re alone because you’re not.”

“As Alex’s sister in law, I can say she is lucky to have you,” Lena said, appreciating Maggie’s support. “Though I will destroy you if you hurt her,” she warned.

“Spoken like a true Danvers,” Maggie grinned. “So what do you say, Lena? Are we going to rock and roll or what?”

“I’d say I just found my best man,” Lena answered, relieved that Maggie was willing to take Daniel’s place without even having to ask. “By the way, you should wear a suit more often. I assure you Alex will dig it.”

A knock on the door jolted Lena up on her feet.

“There you are,” Eliza said, holding her arms out as she smiled at Lena. “You are a vision of perfection.”

Lena wouldn’t have moved if it hadn’t been for Maggie giving her a little encouraging push. She felt frozen in place as Kara’s mother hugged her. “Thank you, Mrs Danvers,” she replied, eventually.

“You can call me Eliza, my daughter in law doesn’t need to use formalities.”

Lena slowly brought her arms up to circle them around Eliza’s waist. For the first time in twenty-two years, she could feel what it was like to have a mother. She swallowed the lump of guilt; thinking how Eliza had no idea the marriage was just a hoax for the adoption.

 

 

* * *

 

 

It was a sunny day on July third, perfect for a wedding. Kara had suggested it and of course Lena arranged it. Getting all the invitations out on time and confirming their guests was tricky, but it all worked out.

At the end of each seated aisle, lilies hung from tree branches. Rose petals were spread down the aisle, stretching from the double doors all the way to the altar.

Lena stood at the altar near the priest. She managed to breathe when Maggie held a thumb up to her. From what she saw, Maggie had hauled the entire police corps to sit with her on her side of the aisle. So much for friends and family only, though the gesture made her smile and made her side far less empty.

Even Alex seemed to have reserved herself a seat at Lena’s side. She knew she didn’t have to worry about Kara minding, given her fiancée would encourage it. The eyes of the guests were all on her as everyone waited for Kara to walk in.

The moment Kara finally walked in, the orchestra began to play and she forgot how to breathe. All the guests stood up while cameras were flashing as they were taking pictures. Later she’d ask around to get a few of those pictures, in case the wedding photographer she hired wouldn’t take enough pictures.

Kara was tearing up as she stepped towards the altar, following the rhythm of the music. She was about to marry Lena Luthor and no amount of pinching was going to wake her up from that dream. “Hey,” she whispered to Lena when she reached her.

“Hey, yourself,” Lena replied quietly, smiling. “You are breathtaking,” she said, pleased to see Kara blush again.

“Welcome,” the priest said, making a grand gesture with his hands. “Please be seated and turn off your cellphones.”

During the ceremony, Kara and Lena held each other’s hands, smiling non-stop.

“Do you, Kara Danvers, take Lena Luthor to be your wife, to cherish in friendship and love today, tomorrow, and for as long as the two of you live, to trust and honor her, to love her faithfully, through the best and the worst, whatever may come, and if you should ever doubt, to remember your love for each other and the reason why you came together with her this day?”

Kara blinked a few tears away and squeezed Lena’s hands. “I do,” she answered, nodding at the priest. “So much,” she added, blushing as she bit her lower lip.

The priest looked at Lena. “Do you, Lena Luthor, take Kara Danvers to be your wife, to cherish in friendship and love today, tomorrow, and for as long as the two of you live, to trust and honor her, to love her faithfully, through the best and the worst, whatever may come, and if you should ever doubt, to remember your love for each other and the reason why you came together with her this day?”

Everything felt like it was spinning and Lena saw concern appear on Kara’s features. She was a woman of her word, she really was. As she closed her eyes for a split second, she wished she wouldn’t get married just to pretend. Unbeknown to Kara, she, too, had dreamed of marriage for a long time.

“I do,” Lena answered, her nerves dissipating as she gazed into Kara’s eyes.

“You may share your vows,” the priest said. “Miss Danvers, you may go first.”

Kara clears her throat. She spent a lot of time thinking about her vows and writing them down, rehearsing them until she knew them by heart. She even wrote vows for Lena to say, which she handed to her yesterday.

“Lena, the first day I met you was when you were moving into your apartment and I asked if I could help you with your boxes, but I ended up tripping over one. Ever since that day I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you, always seeking an excuse to see you. Now that I’ll get to wake up to your beautiful face each morning, I no longer need to find an excuse to see you. Whether you’ll still look like this in the future or end up all grey-haired and wrinkled, you’ll always be my Lena, beautiful beyond compare.”

A loud _awe_ coming from their guests sounded through church.

“Miss Luthor,” the priest said, “you may share your vows.”

Lena folded the piece of paper open with the vows Kara wrote for her. “I can’t say this,” she whispered, sighing as Kara frowned at her. She crumpled the piece of paper into a ball and tossed it aside.

Kara felt like she might be the one fainting this time. She wrote those vows to save Lena time from having to come up with fake vows, considering she had done more than enough already. With everyone listening in and her sister and Maggie being the only ones aside from them knowing they were only getting married for the adoption, she got scared Lena would get cold feet.

Lena brought both of Kara’s hands up to her lips, kissing her knuckles. “Kara,” she said, releasing a breath she didn’t know she had been holding. “Your natural adorable nature never fails to make me smile. You’re the dork who always showed up at my door, asking for sugar, without knowing that with your presence, you were giving me something sweet in return. I love the way you blush and the way you fidget with your glasses when you’re nervous. I’ll be by your side for as long as you’ll have me and I’ll make sure to have a supply of sugar at all times.”

Kara melted when she heard Lena’s vows. The words of the priest were a blur as their rings were being exchanged.

“I now pronounce you wife and wife,” the priest said. “You may kiss the bride.”

Kara’s eyes turned to saucers. She was going to kiss Lena, for the first time ever, in front of a church-full of people. If her fiancée – no scratch that, her wife, wasn’t going to faint, she might.

Lena closed the gap between them, pressing her lips slowly against Kara’s, starting their kiss tentative and seeking. She cupped her wife’s cheeks, teasing Kara’s lips with her tongue to deepen their kiss.

Kara gasped into Lena’s mouth as she raised her hands to rest them on her wife’s elbows. She had imagined kissing Lena a thousand times, but this beat her imagination. Their breaths mingled as her tongue explored her wife’s mouth. She would have prolonged their kiss if they had been alone, but they weren’t, so she had to pull away.

 

 

* * *

 

 

The DJ put his headset on, nodding at Kara and Lena.

Kara’s legs felt like they were made out of jelly. This was their wedding party and their opening song was about to start, which meant she’d have to dance with Lena before others would start to dance as well. She forgot to ask her wife if she can dance. Personally, she could, although she hoped she wouldn’t accidentally step onto Lena’s feet.

Lena placed a hand at the small of Kara’s back and held one of her hands with the other. She couldn’t stop herself from smiling as _Happy Together_ began to play, which suited her wife beautifully. She extended her arm, spinning her wife before pulling her closer again, chests pressed together.

Kara was so close to Lena their lips brushed, which made her feel like she was still spinning. She wanted to close the distance and reclaim the soft lips she’d felt on hers earlier.

Lena’s heart rattled against her ribcage. She caught sight of Maggie making suggestive gestures whilst the photographer she hired looked like he was waiting to snap a juice picture. Searching Kara’s face for any sign of disapproval, she leaned in closer.

Kara closed her eyes and smiled into their kiss, grasping Lena’s waist to pull her closer. She decided to make the most out of each kiss she would get. They were supposed to be dancing, but she liked locking lips more.

“That was…,” Kara whispered, scrambling for words to say as she blushed.

“I am going to get some punch,” Lena said, needing fresh air and a drink. “Would you like me to bring you a glass?”

“Sure,” Kara answered, nodding. “I’ll just… be here, on the dance floor.”

Lena took a deep breath as she reached the table with the large bowl of punch. Her eyes automatically zeroed in on Kara, who was dancing with her friends.

“You’re not fooling anyone with the way you kiss her, especially not me. I’m a detective, I detect.”

Lena jumped up, spilling a bit of punch in the process. “Maggie,” she said, wondering when Maggie snuck up on her. “You know the truth, fooling you would be pointless,” she stated calmly, knowing Maggie knew this was all temporary.

Maggie snorted. “I wasn’t talking about that truth,” she replied, leaning partially on the table. “Pretending doesn’t include the type of kisses that would make single lesbians jealous.”

“I am a businesswoman,” Lena said, tilting her chin up. “I know how to sell things.”

“You can’t even keep your eyes off of her,” Maggie pointed out. “I’m not buying the denial you’re trying to sell.”

Lena filled a second glass with punch and excused herself from Maggie to return to Kara. Maybe she was in a bit of denial, but liking her wife and wanting to date her didn’t mean there was more to it or would be more to it.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Kara could sink into the floor out of embarrassment. “I’m going to kill Maggie,” she mumbled, standing in the bridal suite, courtesy of her sister’s lovely soon to be dead girlfriend. 

The bed was heart-shaped and had silky red sheets. There were six pillows stuffed on the bed, two of them with a piece of chocolate atop of them. The floor was covered in rose petals, so much so you couldn’t tell the floor from the petals.

A bottle of champagne awaited them in an ice bucket with two glasses standing next to it. There was a _do not disturb_ card hanging outside the door, which they had noticed upon entering the suite.

“I’m sorry about this,” Kara apologized, sighing. “If I had known I’d have told Maggie no.”

After the brief contacts she had with Maggie, Lena wasn’t surprised that this particular gift came from her. It was a tad awkward, considering they never slept in the same room, though it didn’t upset her.

“I’ll sleep on the floor,” Kara said, grasping two pillows, dropping them on top of the rose petals.

“Nonsense, Kara,” Lena replied, picking up the pillows to put them back on the bed. “Equals, remember?”

“Oh gosh,” Kara whispered, feeling her cheeks burn. “Um yes… equals,” she confirmed, hoping her voice sounded stronger than she felt. “So… you and I… we… are going to sleep… together? I mean together as in the same bed, not together-together as in sleep-sleep.”

“You can breathe, darling,” Lena said, chuckling. “I know what you meant.”

Kara tried to grasp her zipper, but it wasn’t as easy as earlier when her sister had zipped her dress for her. “Would you mind unzipping my dress?” she asked, holding on to it so it wouldn’t immediately pool onto the floor.

“Not at all,” Lena answered, reaching out to unzip Kara’s dress. “I was going to ask you the same thing.”

Once Kara’s zipper was down, she made to unzip Lena’s dress. Her hands wouldn’t stop shaking as she did so, which only worsened when the red lace of her wife’s bra was revealed. True to her words of trying to be a good wife, she let Lena use the bathroom first to get changed.

Several long minutes later, they were both in bed. Kara was wearing an over-sized black shirt and pajama pants to match it. Lena had opted to wear a tank top and a pair of boxer briefs.

“Goodnight, Lena,” Kara whispered.

“Goodnight, Kara.”

Kara went to kiss Lena’s cheek goodnight, but her wife must have had the same idea because their faces turned at the same time. She caught Lena’s lips and ducked away when a moan escaped her. After their wedding kiss and their kiss on the dance floor for the photographer, this was their third kiss, but this one was accidental and happened in private. She wondered if she had felt her wife kissing her back, but she’d backed out too fast to know if she had or hadn’t.

“Your lips are really soft,” Kara whispered, cheeks red, but thankfully they were engulfed by darkness. “I meant to kiss you goodnight. On… on the cheek,” she explained, blushing impossibly worse. She hoped Lena couldn’t detect her blush through the sound of her voice.

“Yours are soft as well,” Lena replied, quietly. Her lips were still tingling from the unexpected kiss. She heaved out a sigh, glad that they were in private now because private felt different. “It is our wedding night. One proper kiss goodnight would be okay.”

Kara could have countered and asked what Lena meant precisely, but her words were as clear as the sky on this summer day had been. “One kiss,” she agreed, not wanting to think about whether her wife would do it just because or because of personally wanting to.

Being in private, Lena took her time. She was lying down sideways and reached one hand out to touch Kara’s face, brushing her thumb along her cheek as she went to lean in. Her other hand found her wife’s between their bodies, lacing their fingers together.

Kara shifted her free hand and placed it on Lena’s waist. She had to keep herself from moaning as her wife kissed her upper lip, then her bottom lip, before locking their lips together completely. When Lena pushed her to get on top, to take the upper hand, she easily rolled onto her back to let her, while their kiss continued.

Lena nipped at Kara’s lip as a warning when she felt her hand slipping under her top. It may have been accidentally because of the shift, but one way or another she hadn’t agreed to second base. Her wife seemed to take the hint, given the hand she’d felt was suddenly gone.

Kara parted her lips, unsure if Lena would do the same. This kiss couldn’t be pretend, at least not as much as their other two had been, although those hadn’t felt fake either. As she tasted her wife’s tongue, she knew she would never forget this day. Lena tasted like punch and the triple chocolate layered cake they’d eaten.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They're in love, they just don't know it yet.


	9. Chapter 9

Kara sat down next to Lena, feeling more confident this time now that she wasn’t alone and now that she met the right requirements. They were at the only adoption agency she hadn’t visited before yet, which she did on purpose, in case the other ones would question how she suddenly appeared married a mere month after having been denied for being single.

“Thank you for meeting with us on such a short notice,” Lena said politely to the lady from the adoption agency. “My wife and I truly appreciate it. Don’t we, darling?” she continued, taking one of Kara’s hands as she smiled at her. They’d only gotten married four days ago.

“Oh yes, definitely,” Kara confirmed, smiling back. “We have wanted a child for a long time,” she said to the lady of the adoption agency.

“You are welcome,” the lady of the adoption agency said, perching her thick-rimmed glasses higher up her nose. “Another couple had cancelled last minute and of course we are more than happy to assist Mrs Luthor.”

Lena felt Kara squeezing her hand when the lady of the adoption agency addressed her as a Luthor. “With all due respect, it is Mrs Danvers,” she corrected lightly.

“My apologies, Mrs Danvers,” the lady of the adoption agency replied, peering at the files in front of her. “I have bad news and good news for you both.”

Kara swallowed the lump in her throat. She didn’t feel strong enough to handle bad news and if she was going to be rejected again, she’d break down, probably in this very office even. Lena’s hand felt like an anchor of sorts, grounding her.

“The bad news is that the adoption procedure can take months, if not years,” the lady of the adoption agency said, sounding sorry. “Many couples are on the waiting list and have been for a long time,” she explained, saying it as if it was a practiced daily routine for her.

Kara hadn’t counted on having to wait such a long time to adopt a child. She wasn’t sure why she even thought they’d just hand her a child and let her walk out. Adoption agencies aren’t stores. She had told Lena this marriage ordeal would only be for a few months, to last through the checkups from the adoption agency, but with the way it was going it could take years and that wasn’t the agreement she made with her wife.

“That is understandable,” Lena replied, nodding. She had been assuming as much and she knew adoption agencies couldn’t be bought by the rich to end up higher on the waiting list. “And the good news?” she inquired.

Her heart felt like something was ripping it open as she saw the slightest quiver of Kara’s lips. She brought her wife’s hand up to her mouth, placing a gentle kiss on it. Once they would leave this office she would hug Kara tightly and do anything to attempt comforting her.

“We do have one child available for adoption,” the lady of the adoption agency said. “Due to circumstances,” she added, lingering on a file on her desk.

Kara felt a flicker of hope. “What kind of circumstances?” she asked while squeezing Lena’s hand far too tight to be comfortable, but her wife wasn’t complaining or pulling away.

The lady from the adoption agency slid a file towards Kara and Lena. “We have a baby girl who was born on Halloween at the stroke of midnight, during which her mother passed away and her father had a heart-attack,” she said, pointing at the file. “This Halloween she will turn one,” she explained further. “People haven’t been keen on adopting her due to superstition. We’ve had numerous couples during the eight months she’s been with us who refused to adopt her, thinking she would bring bad luck.”

Kara looked at the picture in the file, which showed a baby girl wearing a white dress. The baby girl had a patch of brown hair and jade green eyes. She looked so tiny, which made her cry. It confused her how people could reject a child purely for having been born on Halloween in odd circumstances.

“Elle,” Lena said, reading the baby girl’s name from the file. It felt cruel to her how anyone who wanted a child more than anything could say no to an innocent eight months old little girl.

“Elle Danvers,” Kara whispered, smiling. “What do you say, my love?” she asked Lena, relaxing somewhat as she stopped squeezing her hand.

“Let’s take our daughter home,” Lena answered, feeling her heart speeding up as she said it. She knew she was only saying it like that because they weren’t alone in the room and the child would truly only be Kara’s, but saying it did something to her.

Kara’s heart fluttered. “We’d love to adopt her,” she said to the lady of the adoption agency. “When can we take her home?” she asked, perhaps a little too eager.

“If you swing by tomorrow, I’ll have the papers ready by then,” the lady from the adoption agency answered, shaking her head when Kara went to give her the file back. “You can keep it, I have a copy.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

A young woman walked into the office, balancing Elle on her hip.

Lena knew Kara had been dying to take Elle home. Starting today, they’d officially move into their house. The only detail was that only one out of the two adult bedrooms was ready, which meant they’d have to share a room for a week or so.

“Danvers family, this is Elle,” the lady of the adoption agency said. “And this is Lucy Lane, your adoption social worker.”

“Hello,” Lucy said, flashing a smile. “Like she said, I’m your social worker, though you may call me Lucy.”

“Hello, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” Lena replied, feeling as if this was simply another business meeting. “I am Lena Danvers and this lovely woman is my wife, Kara Danvers.”

“Oh I know,” Lucy replied, a bit stiff. “I’ve dug through both of your files and I know _exactly_ who you two are. It was quite interesting to read you two had dated in secret for years and then married suddenly, coming out with your relationship.”

Kara couldn’t ignore the bad feeling she had of how it sounded as if their social worker knew it wasn’t all that real. If the truth would be revealed, she’d take full responsibility for it. The last thing she’d want would be to drag Lena’s name through the dirt.

“Being the daughter of a homophobe proves to be tricky,” Lena said bitterly, deflecting Lucy’s words. “The media would have been eager to print about the absence of my mother at our wedding. Last minute seemed better, more private.”

“I get you,” Lucy replied, easing up when Elle cooed. “My father would have kicked me out if he had known I play for more than one team.”

Kara smiled proudly at Lena, who was definitely her hero. For a moment she thought everything would go sour, but it hadn’t, all thanks to her wife.

“Here, you can take her,” Lucy said, holding Elle out to Lena.

“Oh, I-” Lena replied, hesitating. When Lucy and the lady of the adoption agency both stared at her questioningly, she quickly accepted Elle. Right, she was supposed to sell she wanted to be a mother. She held Elle for two seconds before handing her over to Kara, knowing how badly her wife wanted this.

“Hey, baby,” Kara whispered, tearing up as she held Elle. “I’m your mommy and I’m going to love you forever plus infinity.”

Lena chuckled. Kara really was a dork, an adorable one. She had no doubt her wife would be an amazing mother to Elle.

Elle smiled at Kara and touched her cheek with one of her chubby little hands. She tangled her other hand firmly in Kara’s shirt, as if she had no intention of letting go.

“I’ll swing by to check up on Elle in a few days,” Lucy said. “Some of my visits won’t be announced in advance.”

“We’ll take very good care of her,” Kara promised. “Thank you so much for giving us such a priceless gift.”

As Lena walked Kara to the minivan her wife had insisted paying for, she wondered how she was going to convince her to put Elle in the car seat rather than continuing to hold her in her arms, certain she wasn’t planning on letting go anytime soon.

It took Kara thirteen minutes to unpeel Elle’s fingers from her shirt and buckle her up in the car seat. She stilled at the door, unable to take her eyes off of her daughter. How could anyone possibly not want to adopt such a sweet little angel?

“Shall I drive?” Lena asked, sensing Kara wanted to sit next to Elle.

“Um yeah, that’s a good idea,” Kara answered, blindly handing Lena her keys.

Lena felt an odd sensation overcome her due to the way Kara looked at Elle with so much love and devotion. She’d seen that look before, once, when they got married.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Oh gosh,” Kara whispered as she broke down in tears. “Lena… you shouldn’t have,” she said, sobbing while she stood in the middle of the baby room.

“It’s a gift for Elle,” Lena said, hoping Kara wouldn’t question the overfull closet with clothes that would last Elle until she turned five.

“You’re so spoiled already, aren’t you?” Kara cooed, tickling Elle’s belly. “Yes, you are,” she said, smiling. “Wait until your auntie Alex visits us tomorrow. She’s going to adore you.”

Lena took the teddy bear which she had bought yesterday because the other stuffed animals weren’t teddy bears. She curiously held it out to Elle, wondering if she would take it.

Elle made grabby movements with her hands, but when Lena handed her the teddy bear, she dropped it onto the floor and stretched her arms out as far as she could.

“I think she wants you to hold her,” Kara said, taking a step towards Lena so Elle could reach her. And yes, the second her daughter could reach her wife, she grasped her shirt. “Would you mind holding her? I’m going to make her some food anyway.”

Lena nodded, though she had no experience with holding a child. Of course she had read several books on child care ever since she agreed to help Kara, but that wasn’t the same as actually holding a child. The way Elle stared at her made her somewhat uncomfortable.

“Don’t get attached to me, sweetheart,” Lena whispered as Kara had left the room. “That would be a mistake, I am not parent material. You have a mommy who is going to love you enough for two people,” she whispered while Elle kept staring at her with those big jade green eyes of her.

Kara smiled when Lena entered the kitchen with Elle. “I love how you made everything child proof, you really thought of everything,” she said, impressed. “Aww,” she cooed, melting as her daughter pressed her cheek against her wife’s. “She has your eyes,” she noted, just catching on to that.

Lena cleared her throat and held Elle out to Kara. “I will be in my office,” she said, needing space.

“Lena,” Kara said, frowning. “What’s wrong? What happened?” she asked, to no avail as her wife walked away. “I don’t understand,” she whispered, sighing, letting her shoulders drop.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I'll write 20 chapters, but I'm not sure yet because I'm still adding pieces to the story line.   
> It's unfortunate I can't draw to save my life. In my head I can picture Elle clearly. 
> 
> I might post another chapter tonight, we'll see. :)


	10. Chapter 10

Kara yawned as she slipped into her bedroom, where Lena was sitting on the edge of the bed. She had a long day, feeding Elle, giving her a bath, getting her to sleep, cleaning up and unpacking boxes. Being a mother wasn’t easy, but this is what she signed up for and she wouldn’t want to give it all up.

Lena felt guilty upon seeing Kara’s exhaustion. She hadn’t helped her with dinner or anything, having spent the day in her office. “I can sleep on the couch if you wish,” she offered, feeling like somehow she should sleep there for what she did.

“You can sleep here for as long as you’d like,” Kara replied, blushing when she caught herself. “I mean until your bedroom is finished,” she corrected, plopping down on her side of her bed. She shut her eyes, deciding she’d tackle the rest of the boxes tomorrow.

“Do you want to talk about earlier?” Lena asked, thinking how she shouldn’t have shut Kara out like that. During the time she spent in her office, she had heard classical music playing in the house, which meant her wife remembered it helps to calm her down.

No response came.

Lena looked over at her wife and noticed she’d fallen asleep. She grabbed the sheets and tucked Kara in, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Sweet dreams, darling,” she whispered, flicking the lights off.

An hour later, Lena was still awake, staring at the ceiling as she heard the baby monitor crackling. She was up and atom before Kara could even stir, to rush over to Elle’s bedroom as she heard her wail. Her wife could do with some sleep and it shouldn’t be that hard to put Elle back to sleep.

Lena tiptoed inside Elle’s bedroom, which was basically pointless considering Elle was awake anyway. “Hey, little siren,” she said, approaching her bed and leaning over it. “Can’t sleep?” she asked with a tired smile.

Elle pulled herself up, a bit wobbly on her legs. She clasped Lena’s index finger into her tiny fist and stopped wailing.

“Oh,” Lena whispered, just about melting. There was something heartwarming about the way Elle held her finger and she felt the overpowering urge to keep her safe at all times. “You just wanted some company, huh?” she commented, vaguely aware that she was talking to a baby.

“Buh,” Elle said, bouncing up and down a little bit.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Lena replied, scooping Elle into her arms. “You look tiny for a crawler,” she said, feeling how light Elle is in her arms. “Your mother thinks you have my eyes,” she whispered as Elle stared at her. “Color wise, perhaps you do, but your eyes are as enchanting as hers.”

“Buh, buh!”

“Why were people so scared to adopt you?” Lena asked, mostly to herself. “You don’t look scary at all. You’re soft and your smile is more adorable than your mother’s, but don’t tell her I said that.”

Elle continued to stare at Lena while she tilted her head to the side.

“When I was your age, I had a mother who used to sing to me,” Lena said, rocking Elle in her arms. She’d been too young when she lost her mother to remember her face, but she always remembered her voice and how she smelled of cinnamon.

Lena sang quietly to Elle, slowly watching her eyes droop. She tucked Elle in and the sight of her sleeping pulled at her heartstrings. “Adoptions aren’t always perfect,” she whispered, remaining near Elle’s bed. “You are going to be okay though. My wife has dreamed about you for a long time and she is going to take good care of you.”

“I will try to help your mother for as long as I’m here,” Lena whispered, caressing Elle’s cheek. “But don’t expect too much of me, okay? I am new to all of this.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Kara chewed the inside of her cheek. She’d woken up when her wife had gotten out of bed and she heard everything Lena said to Elle through the baby monitor. It was sweet how her wife went to console Elle without question. She liked listening to Lena talk to her daughter.

It was the first time she had heard Lena sing and though she certainly wasn’t a singer, she wasn’t bad either. Having her wife with her made her family picture more complete. She’d blushed when Lena said her eyes are enchanting.

Hearing her wife say all of those things to Elle confirmed that she made the right decision to propose, she had chosen the right person. Maybe once their social worker would no longer visit, she might be able to convince Lena to date to see what could possibly blossom from there.

Even though it was all new for her wife, it was new for her as well and she’d say Lena was doing great so far. From what she could hear, her daughter sounded peacefully asleep. She decided to keep it to herself how she heard everything.

It could be interesting if she’d hear more of those conversations during other nights. If she would tell Lena, she’d probably turn the baby monitor off next time. She loved how her wife referred to her as her wife even when she wasn’t in the same room.

She closed her eyes when she heard Lena whisper goodnight to Elle, which meant she must have been coming back to bed. Pretending to be sleeping, she heard her wife entering her room and felt the bed dip. She rolled over to get closer to Lena, eyes still closed as the memories of their wedding night simmered in the back of her mind.

Lena drew her arms around Kara, allowing her to sleep on her chest. She kissed the crown of her wife’s head and closed her eyes, to try and get some sleep as well. It didn’t matter that her room wasn’t finished yet and it didn’t matter if it would take days or weeks before she could sleep in her own room. Sleeping next to Kara was far better.

As they both dozed off to sleep, they dreamed of kissing each other goodnight the way they had done on their wedding night, when they were both rendered speechless and breathless.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Elle crawled over to a box that caught her eye. Before she could be stopped, she took one of the wrapped glasses out of the box. With the newspaper and all, she dropped the glass.

Kara was standing in the kitchen, on the tip of her toes, putting plates away when she heard the sound of glass breaking. Oh no, she shouldn’t have left that one box in her daughter’s reach. She quickly put the plates away and turned around.

“No, Elle,” Lena said, hurrying to lift her up when she saw her reaching for the broken glass. “Broken glass is dangerous, baby girl,” she whispered, keeping her away from it.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have left that box on the floor,” Kara said, cringing as she began to clean up the broken shards.

“I agree, you shouldn’t have,” Lena replied, bouncing a bit as she held Elle. “She could have gotten hurt.”

“I said I was sorry,” Kara repeated, keeping her voice even.

Lena dropped the topic, realizing that Kara felt bad enough. Mistakes were inevitable and surely she was going to make several as well. “Be careful,” she said as her wife cleaned up.

“Yeah because I’m such a klutz,” Kara murmured.

“You know that is not what I meant, Kara,” Lena replied, sighing.

“You’re right,” Kara admitted, feeling even worse now. “I’m sorry… I’m just stressed because I don’t want to mess this up and in a few days the social worker is stopping by. It’s not an excuse for me to take it out on you, so really, I’m sorry,” she explained, hoping Lena could forgive her.

Lena is about to suggest going somewhere so they could spend some time together without stressing about everything when their doorbell rings. “We got it,” she said to Kara, smiling at Elle who was moving her head around like she was trying to locate where the sound came from.

“Hey,” Alex said as Lena swung the door open. “Maggie and I wanted to see how you and my sister are doing with the baby.”

“Sup,” Maggie said, nodding at Lena.

“Hello,” Lena replied, stepping aside to let them in. “This is Elle,” she said, letting Alex hold her niece.

“Awe,” Alex whispered, smiling when her niece smiled at her. “Hi, little cutie, I’m going to spoil you so much, yes I will. I will,” she cooed.

Maggie raised an eyebrow at her girlfriend. “You’re not getting baby fever all of the sudden are you, Danvers?” she asked, sharing a look with Lena who was laughing.

“I… pff, what? No,” Alex answered, laughing nervously. “Kara, what happened?” she asked, noticing her sister crouched down on the floor with a hand full of glass.

“I accidentally left a box on the floor and Elle dropped a glass,” Kara explained, standing up. “She didn’t get hurt, thanks to my wife.”

“I’m relieved _your wife_ was alert enough to react fast,” Alex replied, looking at Lena with wide eyes.

Lena wasn’t sure what to make of Kara calling her that rather than by her name. It sounded more intimate and it was obvious Alex had caught on to that detail. It felt as if her wife and she didn’t almost fight two minutes ago.

“I gave you a key,” Kara said to her sister, recalling that she had. “Why did you ring the doorbell?”

“We didn’t want to barge in,” Alex answered, smiling as her niece seemed to reach for Maggie.

“Hey, munchkin,” Maggie said when Alex handed Elle to her.

“She has your eyes,” Alex said to Lena.

“Oh yeah,” Maggie chimed in, eyes flitting from Elle to Lena. “Like two drops of water.”

“That’s exactly what I told her,” Kara said to her sister and Maggie. “Well, not the two drops of water part, but still.”

Lena held her tongue to avoid an argument. Elle was not like her, not in the slightest.

“She’s adorable,” Maggie said. “How on earth did they let you two adopt her so fast?” she asked Kara and Lena. “Must have cost another small fortune I bet.”

“Money had nothing to do with it,” Lena answered, not having paid the adoption agency anything. Kara paid for the adoption, as any other couple adopting a child would.

“They told us nobody wanted to adopt her because she was born on Halloween,” Kara explained. “Something strange about superstition, but I don’t believe in that.”

“Their loss, your gain,” Maggie replied, shrugging.

“Who is the cutest baby in the world?” Alex cooed, tickling Elle. “You are, yes you.”

“Good luck with that,” Lena said to Maggie, laughing lightly.

“If you need a babysitter, you can always call me,” Alex said to her sister. “Day or night, just call me and I’ll be here.”

“Not like you got a job or anything,” Maggie mumbled to Alex. “Or a girlfriend who’d very much enjoy to spend time with you.”

“I knew you would understand, babe,” Alex replied, pecking Maggie’s lips. She blushed instantly as she caught her sister and Lena looking in their direction. “I um… right, so,” she said, avoiding their eyes.

“You don’t have to feel uncomfortable with being affectionate with your girlfriend when you’re around us,” Lena said to Alex as she threw her arm over Kara’s shoulders, hoping to express that it really was okay.

“Precisely,” Kara agreed, surprising her wife by pecking her lips. “Nothing wrong with it,” she said, blushing.

The corners of Lena’s lips curled up into a smile. Definitely nothing wrong with it. She hadn’t expected Kara to kiss her, even if it was merely a peck, but she figured it was a platonic kiss, nothing more than two gals being pals.

 


	11. Chapter 11

“Ba-ba!” Elle cooed, bouncing around in front of the television in her bouncy seat.

Kara chuckled. “Yes, baby, I see,” she said, opening a box on the table. “Do you like Barney?”

“Ba-ba,” Elle said, clapping her hands together.

“She’s so cute I could just slip her under my shirt and take her home with me,” Alex said, resting her elbow on the table and her face in her hand as she gazed at her niece.

“You’re supposed to help me unpack the rest of these boxes,” Kara said to her sister. “Not plot to steal my daughter.”

“These last boxes will be unpacked in no time,” Alex assured her sister. “When’s your social worker coming over?”

“Today, but I’m not sure which time,” Kara answered, because she hadn’t been given more information. “I appreciate it that you’re using your day off to help me, although I have a feeling it’s also an excuse for you to spend time with Elle.”

“It’s a bit of both,” Alex admitted. “I didn’t have any other plans anyway, Maggie is working late.”

Work made Kara think of the time off she took as Miss Grant’s assistant so she could raise her daughter. It also made her think of Lena, who was currently at L-Corp, probably in the middle of a business meeting. Her wife was a workaholic, although she did stay at home for a whole week.

“Buh!” Elle shouted when the doorbell rang.

“Yes, baby,” Kara said sweetly. “Someone is at the door,” she said as she went to open it.

“Hey, I’m here to check up on Elle,” Lucy said, clipboard and pen in hand.

“Of course, come in,” Kara replied, smiling as she opened the door further. “She’s watching Barney.”

Lucy stopped in her tracks mid-living room. “A.D, is that you?” she asked, grinning.

“Lil Lane?” Alex replied, smiling.

Kara frowned as she watched their interaction. “Do you two know each other?” she asked, wondering if that would be a good thing or simply awkward.

“Yeah, we do,” Alex answered, hugging Lucy. “We met at summer camp when we were teens,” she explained, dropping her arms.

“I haven’t seen you in ages,” Lucy said to Alex. “Speaking of ages, you aged well,” she added, winking.

“Likewise,” Alex replied, winking right back at Lucy. “We should catch up sometime.”

“I agree,” Lucy hummed, roaming her eyes down Alex’s body. “How does a couple of drinks tonight sound?”

“Tonight won’t work for me,” Alex answered, chewing her bottom lip. “I have plans with my girlfriend.”

Kara stood there wordlessly, unsure what just happened.

“Oh, I see,” Lucy whispered, her eyebrows going up. “Another time then?” she asked, fumbling around for her phone.

Alex nodded and took Lucy’s phone to type her number in it. “Call me or text me,” she said, giving Lucy her phone back. “If you don’t mind, I can take Maggie with me.”

“Cool,” Lucy replied, smiling. “I look forward to meet the woman who took you off of the market, A.D,” she said to Alex before turning her attention to Kara. “Is your wife around?”

“No, she’s at work,” Kara answered, hoping that wouldn’t be a problem or wouldn’t make Lucy think Lena wouldn’t live here while she does.

“I used to think I was a workaholic,” Alex said to Lucy, “but my sister’s wife got me beat.”

“I see everything has been child-proofed,” Lucy noted, writing something down on her clipboard. “Has Elle been eating and sleeping well?”

“She’s not a big eater, but she does eat,” Kara answered. She took her daughter to the doctor once who said her eating pattern was nothing to be concerned about. “Sometimes at night she wakes up, but she falls asleep again quickly.”

“Perfectly normal,” Lucy replied, smiling. “I like what I’m seeing and hearing so far.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Lena tried to focus on work, but her thoughts kept slipping to Kara. She wanted to do something special for her wife, something to lessen the tension which had been hanging in the air between them. It wasn’t her place to parent Elle, equals or not, and sometimes she got carried away and commented on the way Kara was raising the little girl.

She partially blamed all the books she read on parenting, which she may have been following a tad too literally. Her wife knew what she was doing and didn’t need her to recite lines from books. She had decided to make up for it, but she had to keep in mind that less was more.

A fancy restaurant or a trip to Paris in a private yet wasn’t going to cut it. She wanted to plan something simple yet romantic. Ordering Kara’s favorite food could be a start, although it might be even better if she cooked something for her.

Her mother never taught her to cook or to tie her shoelaces. When she lived at home, as a child, there was a housekeeper, Genevieve, who taught her how to cook and much more. It lasted up until she was fourteen. That was the point where her mother had fired Genevieve because she’d been furious to find the two of them cleaning together.

For a long time she had felt guilty. She had been the one who had offered Genevieve to help her with the chores, because her mother had been exhausting the poor woman. Currently, Genevieve worked at one of the children’s hospitals she built.

Her phone chimed and she chuckled as she saw the picture Kara sent her. Elle’s face was covered in bits of spaghetti and her wife’s white shirt had tomato sauce stains on it. She smiled and snapped a picture of herself to send it to Kara.

She put her phone aside and prepared for her meeting with Mister Hiyashi. After having put him on hold for a week, she risked losing her most valuable client to Maxwell Lord. She wasn’t going to let that piece of slime – who outed her in high school because she refused to go to senior prom with him – steal her client.

“Miss Danvers, Mister Hiyashi is here to see you,” Lena’s secretary said as she poked her head around the door. “Shall I send him up?”

It felt good to be addressed as Miss Danvers, it was new and refreshing. “Yes, Jess,” Lena answered, smiling. “Make sure nobody disturbs my meeting with him. Nobody is allowed to enter, unless there is an emergency including my wife.”

“Yes, Miss Danvers,” Jess replied, nodding. “And if your mother shows up?”

“ _If_ my mother shows up, tell her I am busy and that she should schedule an appointment if she wishes to see me,” Lena answered, feeling like the chances were slim her mother would ever seek contact again. “I am available to see her on the day a pink unicorn dashes through the sky on a rainbow.”

If she hadn’t owned L-Corp already, her mother would have disowned her from it purely because she dared marry a woman. All she had heard or seen from her mother since was a letter, telling her what a disgrace she was to the Luthor name. Of course, her brother murdered thousands and he was her angel yet she was a demon for being a lesbian. It was perfectly logical in her mother’s delusional mind.

“I will send Mister Hiyashi in right away and if I see your mother, I will call security,” Jess said, exiting Lena’s office.

Lena should give Jess a raise for being so patient and understanding. Good personnel were difficult to find. Her secretary used to work for Maxwell first, but he was known for being unable to keep his hands to himself.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Welcome home,” Kara said, leaning in.

“Thank you, darling,” Lena replied, meeting Kara’s lips halfway for a peck. “How was your day?”

Giving each other pecks had become their thing over the two weeks they had been living together. They gave each other a brief kiss whenever one of them left, came back, went to sleep or woke up. It was all purely platonic, of course.

“Aside from exhausting it was amazing,” Kara answered as she gestured for Lena to sit at the dinner table. She liked how her wife had been coming home earlier so they could enjoy dinner together. Her first evenings had been lonely without Lena. “By the way, remind me to not give Elle crayons again. I gave her paper, but she sort of colored on the wall instead,” she said, cringing as her eyes flicked towards the wall, near the stairs.

Lena followed Kara’s gaze, blinking at the sight of squiggly lines. “I bet she knew we were still decorating,” she replied, relieved as her wife smiled. If she’d have done that when she was a child, her mother would have sent her back to the orphanage without a second thought.

“She’s our – my little artist,” Kara said, pulse racing. At times she’d been quick to remind Lena that Elle is hers, but at other times she accidentally called Elle theirs. The former made her heart clench because she couldn’t shake the feeling that it hurt her wife and the latter made her wish for things she shouldn’t.

“Speaking of Elle, where is she?” Lena asked, peering around. She hadn’t seen Elle since she left this morning; save from the thirteen pictures Kara had sent her while she was at work.

“She fell asleep about twenty minutes ago,” Kara answered apologetically. “If she wakes up in the middle of the night again, you can go say goodnight,” she teased.

“Your generosity knows no bounds,” Lena smirked. She took a bite from her dinner, which tasted as if Kara dropped an entire salt-shaker in it. She knew her wife added sugar sometimes and it wouldn’t surprise her if she used salt by mistake. “This is delicious,” she said when she noticed Kara was looking at her intently. “I hope I will have room left for dessert.”

“I hope so, too,” Kara agreed, beaming. She’d been worried Lena wouldn’t enjoy the food, considering she dropped the salt when her daughter distracted her. “I made chocolate mousse, your favorite.”

Lena placed a hand on Kara’s knee and caressed her cheek with the back of her index finger. “You shouldn’t have,” she whispered as she unconsciously leaned in.

Kara couldn’t stop herself from closing the gap between them. It would just be another platonic peck, in the form of a French kiss.

 


	12. Chapter 12

Kara placed her daughter in the baby carrier that was strapped to her body. She’d just finished breakfast and Lena had left to go to L-Corp. It had been a while since she went to walk dogs from the shelter, so she decided to do that today with Elle.

Elle kicked her legs in the baby carrier, every once in a while bumping her heels against her mother’s stomach.

“I think it’s a bit early for you to try out for soccer, baby,” Kara said, stroking Elle’s hair.

She felt like she was glowing as she walked around with her daughter. People would stop to look and some even made cutesy faces at Elle or simply smiled. It was impossible for anyone to look at her daughter and not smile, or at least that was what she thought.

Others thought it was a bad thing Elle was born on Halloween, but she loved it. Halloween is one of the best days of the year, how could anyone dislike a child born on that day? She was sure that when Halloween came around, she’d get a cute outfit for her daughter to wear.

“Buh!” Elle cooed when she spotted a dog. She opened and closed her hands several times, a bit of drool dripping down her chin as she smiled.

“I’ll let you pet a dog when we’re at the animal shelter,” Kara promised.

She didn’t want to risk asking a stranger if her daughter could pet their dog, because not all dogs were friendly towards children, especially not when a child would tug at their fur. Elle might pull at a dog’s hair and she would stop her if she would of course. At the shelter there were plenty of dogs who wouldn’t bite her daughter for that.

“Buh,” Elle whined, pouting.

“We’re almost at the animal shelter, baby,” Kara whispered, kissing the crown of her head. “Maybe we’ll have our own dog someday, but you might want to pout at Lena for it.”

It wouldn’t surprise her if her wife would rush to get a dog if Elle would pout for one. She could make that assumption because they all went to a store for children once and her daughter had crawled over towards an adult-sized teddy bear. The next day when she’d woken up she found that very same teddy bear in Elle’s bedroom while Lena had looked at her innocently.

Not to mention the insane amount of clothes her wife bought for her daughter. Even with Elle growing, there would be no way for her to wear all of them at least once. There were enough clothes for a dozen children and no, that wasn’t an exaggeration. Lena did suggest they could donate some, but so far they hadn’t gotten around to that yet.

Now that she had a daughter, she’d been dreaming about an even bigger family, but she was happy enough that she was lucky to have a child. Elle was her little miracle, her lucky charm. Before her parents passed away, she always wished to have siblings. When Alex became her sister, she loved growing up together, instantly having a best friend for life. A brother or sister for her daughter could be nice in the future, though she’d wait what the future would bring.

“Do!” Elle chirped, sticking her finger out when her mother entered the animal shelter.

“Yes, that’s a dog,” Kara said, stepping closer towards the golden retriever she’d been walking for two years. “Hey, buddy,” she whispered to the dog, carefully crouching down in front of him with her daughter.

Elle giggled when the dog licked her face. “Do!” she cooed, grabbing his face as he licked her again.

“I see you two are getting along well,” Kara said as she put the leash on the dog.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“This is the prototype I have created,” Lena said as she showed the device to Mister Hiyashi. “It is solar-powered, of course. I know how much you invest in green energy.”

“You never fail to impress me,” Mister Hiyashi replied, nodding as he studied the prototype.

“I was thinking about donating several of these to hospitals,” Lena suggested. “Not only here in National City, but-” She cut herself off when the door opened.

Her eyes widened at the sight of Kara walking in with Elle and a dog. When she told Jess her wife was allowed to enter in case of emergencies, she hadn’t meant she should let her walk in with a dog.

“Do, do, do!” Elle chanted.

“Hi,” Kara said, biting her lip when she noticed her wife was with a client. “My- our daughter missed you.”

Lena raised an eyebrow. “I had no idea her vocabulary advanced since this morning,” she replied dryly. This whole situation was far from amusing and yet she couldn’t help the smile that tugged at her lips.

Kara walked up to Lena’s desk and pecked her lips briefly. “It won’t happen again,” she whispered, feeling bad for having interrupted.

“Pardon me, Mister Hiyashi,” Lena said respectively to her client. “It seems my wife and my child missed me as much as I missed them.”

Mister Hiyashi chuckled while Elle giggled as the dog was trying to jump up to reach her. “I have a family myself,” he said, opening his wallet to reveal multiple pictures. “Being a family woman suits you, if I may say so,” he complimented Lena.

“Thank you,” Lena replied with a nod. “Your family looks lovely.”

“This is my son, Huan,” Mister Hiyashi said, pointing at a picture of a young boy. “He recently turned seven. And this,” he continued as he pointed at another picture, “is Lin, she is two years old.”

Lena got caught off guard by the dog jumping into her lap. “Hello, buddy,” she said, remembering him from the time she’d walked him. She petted him while trying to get him off of her lap.

“Time to go,” Kara said to her daughter and to the dog as she gently tugged at his leash. “I’ll see you later?” she asked Lena.

Lena hummed and pointed at her lips. It was a habit she couldn’t shake and she couldn’t remember who had started it. “I’ll be home by six,” she whispered.

Kara could feel herself swoon as she kissed Lena a little too long to count as a peck, but who was counting anyway? It wasn’t as if her wife had ever objected or complained about it. “Say bye to mama,” she said to Elle, purely because of Lena’s client being present.

“Buh,” Elle said. She cooed when Lena kissed her cheek. “Da-da,” she gurgled.

Lena chuckled and shook her head. She waved until Kara and Elle had left her office. “Where were we?” she asked Mister Hiyashi, turning her attention back to him.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Ordering pizza was easy. Making pizza on the other hand, not so much. Lena sighed as she stared down at the dough, which was supposed to be round but looked like a deformed square instead. Of course she knew how to cook, but she never made pizza before and it was Kara’s favorite so she had to make it.

She had the house to herself for a few hours, considering she convinced Alex to lure Kara away for a while. The pizza had to be ready by the time her wife would return. She laid the ingredients on the table, hoping that if the pizza would look bad it would at least taste good.

“Da-da!” Elle shouted, crawling around. She crawled towards Lena and tugged at her pants.

Lena bent through her knees and picked Elle up. “I am blaming your mommy for you calling me daddy,” she said, wondering which other clever things Kara planned on teaching Elle. “My name is Lena.”

Elle nuzzled her face in Lena’s neck. “Da-da,” she mumbled, yawning like a tiny dinosaur.

“You woke up too soon from your nap, young lady,” Lena said, rubbing Elle’s back.

With one hand, she placed toppings on the pizza. The oven was already pre-heating. Juggling cooking and babysitting was difficult and she felt a lot of respect for parents who always combined it. She knew Kara had been juggling everything quite well, but she worried regardless of how tough it would be for her once she would be out of the picture.

Elle moved in Lena’s arms, turning her head towards the food. “Nam,” she said, stretching a hand out.

“You are just like your mommy when it comes to food,” Lena said, giving Elle a piece of cheese.

She sighed, hardly believing Elle was nine months old already. Time flew and soon enough her first birthday would come around, which also meant that soon she wouldn’t be living here anymore. It was still a bit unsure how long their social worker would continue to visit, but it would probably only be until Elle turned one or until the year would end.

Considering it was august now, she felt like an hourglass had been turned and the sand was falling too fast. She would stick to the contract she made with Kara, always a woman of her word. The house belonged to her wife, whom she’d have to divorce in a few months. And Elle belonged to Kara as well.

She would leave with a suitcase filled with her clothes and rent an apartment again or buy her own house. For now she tried not to put too much thought into that, though at times she couldn’t help it. She had the family she never thought she deserved, knowing she’d have to give them up.

Pushing those feelings down, she lit a few candles and placed them on the table. She put the pizza in the oven, satisfied with the work she’d done, even though the pizza wasn’t round.

“Honey, I’m home!”

Lena perked up at the sound of Kara’s voice, glad she finally arrived. She’d taken the pizza out of the oven five minutes ago and Elle was sitting on the floor in front of the television, watching Barney.

“Wow,” Kara whispered, standing still. She saw Lena had prepared dinner, from the sight of the table. The smell of pizza made her smile and the candles were a nice romantic touch.

Lena pecked Kara’s lips, out of routine. “Surprise,” she said, smiling. “I made pizza.”

Kara took a moment to hug her daughter. “Hey, baby,” she said, kissing her cheek. “Mommy missed you.”

“Ma-ma,” Elle cooed.

“Of course,” Lena sighed quietly to herself. “Her she calls mama, meanwhile I’m daddy.”

Kara’s lips split into the biggest smile upon hearing Elle calling her mama. “Did you say something?” she asked her wife, unsure if she heard something.

“No,” Lena answered, pulling a chair out. “Hungry?”

“Very,” Kara answered, licking her lips. She hurried to sit down, blushing when Lena pushed her chair for her. “Ooh, I like how you shaped it,” she said as she glanced at the pizza, which almost looked like a star. “How did you know I like astronomy?”

“Lucky guess,” Lena answered, taking a seat across from Kara. Maybe she should deform pizzas more often.

“Thank you for this,” Kara said, placing her right hand upside down on the table.

Lena slipped her hand into Kara’s, caressing her thumb with hers as she gazed into her eyes, forgetting all about dinner.

 


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy. :))

Kara lingered at her door, trying to figure out what to say as she saw Lena was about to enter her own bedroom, which was finished by now. She couldn’t picture sleeping alone tonight after all the nights she slept next to her wife, mostly whilst cuddling.

Lena froze after one step inside her bedroom. Her bed looked cozy, but it wouldn’t be as cozy as spending her nights with Kara. Maybe during the time it took for her room to be finished, sharing a bed with her wife had become a habit. She’d already given Kara a peck goodnight, but it didn’t feel like enough.

“I…,” Kara whispered, trying to gather her courage. “Lena,” she said, stronger this time.

The sound of her name had Lena spin around and in the blink of an eye she was right in front of Kara, pressing her against the door as she kissed her. Later she’d claim she got carried away due to the candlelit dinner they had.

Kara took a second to react, but she did. Her hands slipped down the smooth curves of Lena’s sides to rest on her hips as she drew her impossibly closer. She could feel this was nowhere near platonic, though she wouldn’t question it because it was a perfect ending for the romantic night they shared.

Lena blindly pushed the door open and stumbled inside the bedroom with Kara, panting as she felt her wife’s hands plucking at the hem of her shirt.

The back of Kara’s knees hit the bed and next thing she knew, Lena was on top of her, stealing her breath away. Okay, she definitely liked her wife, loved even. There was no way she would get over her crush on Lena now that she was under her.

“Da-da,” sounded through the baby monitor. It was followed by wailing.

Lena sighed and broke her kiss with Kara, backing away to give her some space. Perhaps it was for the best that Elle interrupted their moment before they could have gone further. She should avoid making things complicated.

Kara sat up and ran a hand through her hair. “She wants you,” she said as her daughter called out again. “Can you please check up on her?”

Lena nodded and got up. She wasn’t sure how to break it to Kara that it wasn’t good how Elle had grown attached to her and the longer she’d be around, the more attached Elle would be. The extra bad news was that she was becoming attached as well. She’d be damned to ever be one of those parents who abandon their family. There was still time left to think of a solution and discuss it with her wife.

Kara remained close to the baby monitor, listening to Lena talk and sing to Elle. She couldn’t stop thinking about how tempted she’d been to rid her wife of her shirt and how she might have gotten permission to do so. Their kiss was heated and now she was here in bed, burning for more. She wondered if she could have an honest chance with Lena rather than something typed up in a contract.

She exhaled silently as her wife entered her bedroom again. “Is Elle sleeping?” she asked, keeping her voice down.

“Like an angel,” Lena answered, smiling as she slipped under the covers. She sighed and propped herself up on her elbow, unable to sleep.

Kara copied Lena’s move and faced her. “I had a wonderful night,” she whispered, tracing her fingertips up and down her wife’s arm, leaving goosebumps in their wake. “It felt like a date,” she confessed. “Not that I’m saying it was a date… but if it was then maybe… I don’t know, if you… we could… um,” she said, searching for the right words to say without blushing, only to realize she couldn’t.

“It can be whatever we want it to be,” Lena replied simply. “A date or not a date, whichever you feel comfortable with.”

“In that case…,” Kara said, taking a deep breath as a smile fought its way onto her face. “I’ll go with date… if, if that’s okay.”

“It is,” Lena assured Kara, shuffling a bit closer towards her. “And would this be okay?” she asked, cupping her wife’s cheek, eyes flitting down to her lips.

“Can’t have a date without kissing,” Kara answered, blushing as she frowned at her own words. Dates don’t necessarily include kissing, but she felt so nervous that it was the first thing that came to her mind.

As Lena kissed Kara, she knew they’d crossed the platonic line. She’d known it before, but she was too busy denying it. This time there was no denying it. It was complicated, but oh god complicated tasted sweet.

Kara rested a hand on a strip of exposed skin on Lena’s side. As their tongues danced around one another, seeking a balance between submission and dominance, her hand crept up higher. She stopped short of her wife’s breasts, moaning when she felt Lena biting her bottom lip.

Lena rolled over onto her back and pulled Kara on top of her, which made her wife’s hand shift, causing it to graze her naked breast. She saw Kara blushing furiously. Not removing her wife’s hand, she slipped her own under Kara’s shirt, moving them up and down her back.

Kara leisurely brought her hand higher, gauging Lena’s reaction, but she saw no sign of disapproval or lack of consent. She palmed her wife’s breast and claimed her lips.

Lena’s insistent mouth parted Kara’s shaking lips as she experimentally raked her nails down her back, reveling at the sound of her wife hissing only to moan not even a second later.

Kara groaned, low in her throat as she fervently kissed Lena back, tasting a hint of the red wine her wife had been drinking during dinner. She had no idea where things would go in the future, but she’d gladly find out.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Music was blasting through the speakers of the club. Drunken people and slightly tipsy people were dancing on the dance floor, underneath a giant disco ball. It was loud and crowded, the type of club Lena hadn’t gone to since college.

She’d been asked to hang out by Alex and of course Kara had encouraged her to, claiming she’d be fine spending her evening alone with Elle. It felt different to be here rather than at home, or well, her temporary home, where she would sit on the couch with her wife to watch something together.

“A.D, babe!” Lucy shouted as she wriggled through the crowd.

“Lil Lane!” Alex replied, sticking her hand up to wave.

“That’s your social worker?” Maggie asked Lena, slurring in her ear.

Lena nodded and took a sip from her beer. It was awkward to see Lucy outside of the social visits to check up on Elle. She knew Alex had no intention of selling Kara and her out, but it remained worrisome.

“Damn,” Maggie muttered. “She’s hot,” she said, emptying her beer.

“Maggie, this is Lucy Lane, my old summer camp friend,” Alex said, grinning as she had one arm around Lucy’s shoulders. “We were really close back in the days.”

“Toats,” Lucy agreed, grinning as well. “We were like twinsies, except others thought we were a couple, how funny is that?”

“Hilarious,” Maggie replied, voice void of emotions. She forced a smile onto her face when Lena nudged her.

“Lucy, this is Maggie Sawyer,” Alex said proudly. She dropped her arm and took Maggie’s hand. “Aka my one true love,” she added, blushing.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Lucy said to Maggie. “Alex is always gushing about you on the phone.”

“I do not gush!” Alex objected. “Much,” she said, quieter.

“Sure sounds like it, babe,” Maggie said, giving her girlfriend a dimpled smile.

“Anyway,” Alex said, clearing her throat. “This is Lena, my sister in law, but you already met her.”

“Lena,” Lucy said with a nod.

“Hello, Lucy,” Lena said stiffly. “I’ll buy us a round of drinks.”

“Don’t feel uncomfortable or awkward or anything,” Lucy said to Lena. “I’m here as Alex’s friend to have a good time, I’m not here as your social worker.”

Lena knew there was a difference between work and private time, but she would remain cautious all the same. She went to get a new round of drinks, relieved to see that Maggie’s jealousy towards Lucy seemed to have been resolved. To be fair, if someone would flirt with Kara she’d be jealous too, only because they were married of course. And because she liked her. That too.

“So, my sister’s birthday is coming up,” Alex said after two more rounds of drinks.

“Speaking of which, I want to plan a surprise for her,” Lena said, snapping her fingers.

She was glad Alex had brought it up. Kara would turn thirty in September, in six days. She couldn’t believe they’d been married for almost two months already. It felt like two days, that was how fast time went by. Meanwhile, Elle was ten months old, which meant her birthday would happen soon as well, too soon. She wished she could freeze time for a while.

“Like a party where we yell surprise when she walks in?” Maggie asked, wrapping her fingers around her bottle of beer. “Whatever you’re up to, Lena, count me in.”

“Count me in, too,” Alex said to Lena.

“If you need an extra hand, I won’t mind giving you one, A.D,” Lucy said, winking.

Maggie took a swig from her bottle. “We’ll let you know if we need a hand, Lucy,” she said, staring directly at her.

“You can call me Luce, babe,” Lucy replied, sipping from her drink as she winked at Maggie. “By the way you look so good in that plaid shirt.”

“She looks even better without it,” Alex blurted out, laughing as she reached for another bottle.

“Mhmm, I’ll bet,” Lucy hummed, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth as she roamed her eyes down Maggie’s body.

Lena held her hands up to her sides, shaking her head. She wasn’t sure if they were acting that way because of the alcohol or if they were actually out to flirt with one another. Not that there would be anything wrong with flirting, but from her understanding Alex and Maggie were still dating.

“You must work out in your free time,” Maggie said to Lucy, touching her biceps.

“Oh yea, I run all the time,” Lucy replied with a lopsided smirk. “Especially after women,” she added.

“Don’t believe a thing she says,” Alex said, clapping a hand over Lucy’s mouth. “She always had guys and girls chasing after her.”

“About Kara’s birthday,” Lena cut in, hoping to bring them back to the topic. She frowned at the bottles of beer they kept downing, four and counting.

“Shhh,” Alex replied, placing her index finger against Lena’s lips. “Dance with me, sisssss,” she said, giggling as she threw her arms around Lena.

Lena scrunched up her nose at the strong smell of alcohol. “I doubt that’s a good idea,” she replied, but Alex was already tugging her towards the dance floor. She had to bring her arms around Alex’s waist to keep her upright when she slumped. In the corner of her eye, she saw Maggie dancing with Lucy. She really didn’t drink enough for any of this.

“Whe- when, I… fir-first…sa-saw y-you,” Alex hiccupped, “be-before,” another hiccup, “Ma-Maggie, I wan-wanted,” she chuckled, leaning more of her weight onto Lena. “I wanted t-to kiss y-you,” she hiccupped, “sen-sense-senseless.”

Lena closed her eyes and prayed Alex wouldn’t remember this tomorrow because she highly doubted she was ever supposed to know.

“Ca-can you…,” Alex hiccupped, looking up at Lena, “be-believe it? I ha-hated… y-you, b-but…I wan-wanted to…f-”

“You told me Maggie was your wakeup call,” Lena said quickly, before Alex could finish the sentence she really didn’t need to hear.

Alex threw her head back and laughed. “Oops,” she replied, letting her head fall back. Her laughter died out and turned into tears. “I lo-love,” she hiccupped, “Ma-Maggie.”

Lena glanced at Maggie, who looked like she was about to grind with Lucy. “That does it,” she said, grasping Alex’s wrist as she took out her phone to call her driver. “I am taking you all home before you do something you will truly regret,” she said as she pressed speed dial. “And to say I am younger than the three of you,” she added, tsking.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just as a side-note, Alex isn't out to be with Lena.


	14. Chapter 14

Kara bounced her leg up and down, listening to her daughter giggling. All that was missing right now was her wife, though it was a good thing that she was spending time with Alex and Maggie.

“Do!” Elle shouted at the television.

Kara snapped out of her thoughts and looked at the screen, seeing a dog in a commercial spot. “Yes, baby, a dog,” she said, stroking her daughter’s hair.

Her doorbell rang and she wondered if Lena was back early and had forgotten her keys or something. She put Elle down on the floor and went to see who it was.

“Hi, honey,” Eliza said, smiling at Kara. “I was in the neighborhood and wondered if this would be a bad time.”

“No, of course not,” Kara replied, smiling back. “You’re always welcome,” she said, pulling her into a hug.

“Where is my daughter in law and my granddaughter?”

“Lena is out with Alex, actually,” Kara answered, letting go of Eliza. “Elle is in front of the tv.”

“Hi, sweetie,” Eliza whispered, crouching down in front of Elle. “I’m sorry this is only my second visit.”

“Can I get you something to drink?” Kara asked, opening the refrigerator. “And if you’d want to stay over tonight, we have a guestroom,” she said, which was technically Lena’s bedroom, but it wasn’t being used.

“A glass of water will do,” Eliza answered, picking Elle up. “I have a hotel room nearby.”

Kara shook her head as she poured Eliza a glass of water. It seemed silly to her that she would pay for a hotel when she could stay here for the night. She placed the glass on the table in front of her couch and sat down next to Eliza, who seemed mesmerized by Elle.

“I have always dreamed of being a grandmother,” Eliza said in a whisper.

“So did my mother,” Kara replied with a sad glint in her eyes. She made it, ticked off all the boxes of the things she would achieve, all the things she basically promised her mother. “She would have loved Elle.”

“She would be so proud of the woman you’ve become,” Eliza said, clasping one of Kara’s hands in hers. “You are giving this little girl a chance to have a family who loves her.”

“Lena has been spoiling her more than I have,” Kara said, chuckling. “You should see all the clothes she bought for Elle and the stuffed animals. I’m not sure if she realized we were only adopting one child, not the Von Trapp family.”

“From what I’ve seen, I can tell Lena loves you and Elle more than anything in the world,” Eliza replied, smiling. “Trust me,” she said, patting Kara’s knee, “a mother knows.”

“I love her, too,” Kara whispered, biting her bottom lip as she nodded to herself. “I love her,” she repeated, stronger this time, with more certainty.

“Time goes by fast, never let a day go by without reminding her that you love her,” Eliza said, sharing a piece of motherly advice. “The last time I saw Jeremiah, I told him I loved him, even though we had argued that day about this silly thing, and I’m glad I did.”

Kara’s lips parted slightly as she frowned. She had never known Eliza had argued with Jeremiah on the day he died. Arguments could be silly and it reminded her of the few silly ones she had with Lena, such as if Elle looked better in a pink dress or a purple one.

Eliza lifted Elle up and handed her over to Kara. “I brought a gift for you,” she said, feeling around until she found an envelope.

Kara looped one arm around her daughter to keep her from falling as she opened the envelope. She cried when photographs of her wedding were revealed.

“Da-da,” Elle cooed, putting her hand on a picture where Lena was kissing Kara’s knuckles in front of the altar.

Kara looked at Eliza with wide eyes. “I’ve been trying to get her to call Lena mama, I swear,” she said, feeling like she could sink in the floor. “She didn’t get that from me.”

“It is alright, honey,” Eliza replied with a small smile. “This is a modern age, you don’t have to explain. What you do in private with your wife only concerns the two of you.”

“Oh gosh,” Kara whispered, cheeks beyond red. Her night couldn’t possibly get any more awkward than this and she felt like hiding for a few years until Eliza would forget this happened.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Miss Danvers, your wife’s sister is here to see you.”

Lena pressed the button of the intercom on her desk. “You may send her in,” she replied with a tired sigh.

She only slept four hours because she had an early meeting and she was home late, thanks to Alex, Maggie and Lucy. Taking them home hadn’t been easy at all. They kept ordering drinks and refused to leave until the bouncer meddled, since she couldn’t get them outside, not even with Daniel’s help.

It had been a long ride and they’d given her a headache by singing loudly while there wasn’t even any music playing in the limousine. She’d apologized multiple times to Daniel for the trouble. When she came home in the middle of the night, Kara was soundly asleep.

“Hey, Lena,” Alex said as she walked in. “Do you have a moment so we can talk?” she asked, pushing her leather jacket back as she placed her hands on her hips. “I won’t take up much of your time.”

Lena rolled her chair back and stood up to go sit on her couch. She gestured at it for Alex to join her. “I can spare a couple of minutes,” she said, needing to resume work as soon as possible.

“Okay, I’ll cut to the chase,” Alex replied, sitting down next to Lena. “I want to apologize for last night, on behalf of all of us, but mostly me. The things I said and what I did… I was out of line and I’m sorry.”

“You drank too much, you all did,” Lena said, tilting her head at Alex. “Why did you continue to drink like that?”

Alex placed her elbows on her knees and her hands in her hair. “When I was fresh out of college, I had a drinking problem,” she answered, digging her nails into her scalp. “I sobered up a couple of years ago, but every once in a while, depending on the circumstances, I cross my limit and get drunk.”

Lena scooted over and gently coaxed Alex’s arms down. She could see her eyes were red and her hair was tussled. “Do you want to talk about the circumstances from last night?” she asked, handing Alex a box of tissues.

“Maggie was drinking too much because of me, because of Lucy,” Alex said, shivering as she exhaled. “Lucy was trying to drink her feelings away or at least that’s what she told me this morning when we woke up. And I was drinking because I was nervous being there with my girlfriend and with Lucy, who I liked as more than a friend when I was a teenager, but I didn’t realize that until recently.”

“Wait,” Lena replied, making a time-out gesture with her hands. “You woke up with Lucy?” she asked, positively sure she did not drop Lucy off at Alex’s place, only Maggie.

“I did,” Alex confirmed, wincing the second she nodded her head. “Maggie did, too,” she added, rubbing her temples.

Lena pressed her intercom to ask her secretary to get Alex a glass of water and some aspirin. “Did you and your girlfriend sleep with my wife’s social worker?” she asked, hoping the answer would be no because Kara and she couldn’t deal with such complication on top of their other complications.

“We were dressed, you can stop internally freaking out,” Alex answered, looking up as Lena’s secretary brought her a glass of water and an aspirin. “Thanks,” she mumbled, accepting it. “Lucy stopped by at my place to talk, but we all passed out within five minutes.”

“You were nervous about Maggie and Lucy both being near you at the same time,” Lena said, trying to wrap her mind around it. “Do you still have feelings for Lucy?”

“I… I don’t know,” Alex sighed. “I would never cheat on Maggie though. I’m in love with her and I can see myself marrying her someday.”

“If I was in your shoes, I would let both of them know where I stand,” Lena replied, merely sharing her opinion. “You could be with one of them, neither one of them, or both of them if you’re into polyamory,” she said, hoping to brighten the mood a bit.

Alex rolled her eyes. “This is serious, Lena,” she said, sighing again. “About what I said to you last night, I wasn’t thinking. I did used to hate you and stuff, but you’re my sister now and I care about you.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Lena said quietly, wanting to forget it happened. “I’ll keep it between us.”

“Anyway, we digressed,” Alex said, averting her eyes. “All I wanted was to apologize and hear you out about that surprise for Kara’s birthday.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Why is this happening today?” Kara asked herself, sighing. She fumbled with her set of keys, searching for the one to open the front door with.

It was her birthday today, but she’d gotten up at seven in the morning because Lucy had sent her a text, requesting her presence at the adoption agency. The text was vague aside from that, saying she had to stop by right away, alone, to discuss something about Elle.

In a rush of panic that something was wrong or that they might take her daughter away, she’d gotten up and hopped into her minivan. On the way to the adoption agency, she hoped they hadn’t found out about her arrangement with Lena.

When she arrived, the door had been closed. She stood there waiting, for over an hour, until the lady from the adoption agency arrived and frowned at her. Five minutes later, Lucy had sauntered up to her and led her into an office. She sat there, listening to her social worker talk about things that made no sense, including the weather.

Two hours later – yes two hours! – She finally had the chance to return home as Lucy seemed done talking. When she got back to her car, one of her tires was slashed. Who even does that? And of course, being the klutz she was, she didn’t have a spare tire.

Thankfully, Lucy happened to exit the adoption agency, saw her distress and offered to help. She sent Lena a text while Lucy called a tow truck for her, saying they would arrive as soon as possible. Skip ahead roughly three hours, it’s two in the afternoon and they finally arrive. Meanwhile she’d eaten lunch with Lucy because they were both starving.

And they had the audacity to excuse their tardiness by claiming they were only called twenty minutes before they arrived. Yeah, sure! As if! She had been standing near Lucy when she’d called them, had heard her explain the slashed tire and she was quite sure she also heard her flirting, but that wasn’t her business.

After a tiring day filled with a series of unfortunate events, she’d made it home, disappointed that it was already six in the evening. She hoped Lena wouldn’t be annoyed with her that she had to spend the whole day alone with Elle, unannounced. Her wife most likely had to work and therefore must have missed important meetings. She’d tried to call Lena, but it went straight to voicemail.

With a final sigh, Kara turned her key in the lock and pushed the door open. It was completely dark inside until someone flicked the lights on.

“Surprise!!!”

Kara nearly jumped out of her skin as family and friends appeared from behind her furniture. There where balloons everywhere and before she could process the surprise, she was tackled down by a very familiar looking golden retriever with mocha brown eyes.  

“Do!” Elle cooed loudly.

“Happy birthday, Kara,” Lena said, pulling her wife back up to her feet. “I hope you like your dog.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eliza thinks Kara and Lena have a daddy kink. :)


	15. Chapter 15

Kara flung her arms around Lena’s neck and kissed her without further ado. She cried as she kissed her over and over again, whispering how happy she was with her gift. “I love you,” she blurted out, too emotional to even realize it. She broke free from her wife and went to greet everyone else.

Lena’s eyes widened the slightest way possible. She bit her lip and looked down. Taking a deep breath, she tried to mind herself, recalling childhood memories. Conceal don’t feel, that was what she was taught growing up. It made her feel frozen, like she had to ice her heart.

When she was younger, she used to play with her hair and duck her head when she felt shy and nervous, until her mother kept scolding her for it. Her mother would slap her hand away and jerk her chin up, until she stopped doing that. Sometimes when she was unsure or thinking, she shifted her weight from one foot onto the other. Until her mother told her to stop being so jittery.

“Lucy!” Kara gasped, spotting her social worker among her guests. “You sneaky…,” she said, smiling as she shook her head. “You tricked me.”

“I sure did,” Lucy confirmed, smirking as she leaned against Alex.

“You’d have known we were luring you away if I had done it,” Alex said to her sister. “And hey, blame your wife. She’s the mastermind behind all of this.”

“I have my own dog,” Kara said, smiling so much she was sure it would hurt later.

Lena took Kara’s hand and pulled her close, hugging her. “I asked myself what you would want for your birthday,” she whispered in her wife’s ear. “Then I realized the only thing you didn’t have yet which you always wanted was a dog. You told me how back at your apartment, the owner refused to let you have a dog and since this house is your property, I went for it and adopted a dog for you.”

“A dog,” Kara repeated quietly, chuckling. “And it happens to be a coincidence that this particular dog is Elle’s favorite.”

“Of course,” Lena replied, hugging Kara tighter. Conceal don’t feel, but god did she love her. “Kara, I-”

“Time to blow your candles out, birthday girl!” Winn shouted.

“And make a wish!” Maggie added.

“Thank you so much,” Kara said to her wife, kissing her again. She wasn’t fully sure, but she felt like Lena had given her some sort of free pass to kiss because of her birthday. “Best. Birthday. Ever.”

Lena had her eyes on Kara as she watched her close her eyes to blow out the candles. She could see her wife’s lips moving, but she couldn’t hear what she was wishing for. When Kara opened her eyes, their eyes met.

Kara smiled at Lena and blew her a kiss, smiling even more when she saw her wife biting her lip before looking down. She wasn’t sure how Lena felt about her, but she was sure that she did feel for her. It wasn’t the first time she’d caught her wife biting her lip and looking away, as if she was struggling not to blush.

Elle rolled over onto her back and giggled when their dog began to lick her face.

“Aww, look at them being best buddies,” Maggie said. “We should get a dog, Danvers,” she murmured to Alex.

“Maybe we’ll get one once you can come up with a better name than Gertrude,” Alex replied, smiling when Maggie shoved her.

“I’m going to name him Buddy,” Kara decided, considering she always called him Buddy out of habit when she’d walked him.

Alex stood next to Lena while her sister cut the cake. “You bought her a dog, hm?” she commented quietly. “You’re so whipped, Lena.”

“I want Kara to be happy, that is all,” Lena whispered, keeping her eyes on her wife.

“Yeah, you’re doing a good job at making her happy,” Alex replied, patting Lena’s shoulder. “I see she’s making you happy, too. Maybe you’d want to hold on to that.”

Lena sighed, but before she could react, Alex walked away.

“Do I have any grey hairs?” Kara asked her wife. She pulled her hair tie loose and shook her hair.

Lena bit her lip. Her wife was truly a vision to behold. “No,” she answered, tucking a lock of Kara’s hair behind her ear. “You are so…,” she said, unable to stop staring into her eyes. “I’m speechless,” she chuckled.

Kara saw Lena leaning in before she did. She grasped her wife’s shirt, humming when she felt soft lips on hers. For a moment she was able to forget she’d have to say goodbye someday.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Lena sang as she held Elle close to her chest, caressing her back. In the background she could hear their guests talking, though they did keep it down as they promised they would. She had offered to put Elle to sleep because her wife was busy catching up with her friends.

Elle stirred when Lena put her down in her crib. “Da-da,” she whispered, yawning as she looked into her eyes.

For several long minutes, Lena gazed into Elle’s eyes. Her heart constricted when Elle smiled at her. “I can’t do this,” she whispered, wondering how she was ever supposed to be able to say goodbye. She’d been raising Elle as much as Kara had and she loved her the way a mother should love her child.

Permitted visits crossed her mind as a solution, because she’d never break her wife’s heart by asking for split custody or any custody at all. She would open a savings account for Elle where she would put money into each month so she’d have plenty for college when she’s older. And a car and a house… or two.

“I am never going to turn my back on you,” she whispered, caressing Elle’s cheek. “Even when someday you can’t see me anymore, I’ll still be there.”

Elle yawned, her eyes fluttering shut.

“Sweet dreams, my angel,” Lena whispered, tucking Elle in. She kissed Elle’s forehead as a tear escaped her. “Keep a good eye on her Buddy,” she said to their golden retriever, who was sitting next to the crib.

Buddy barked once and put one of his paws through the pillars of the crib.

“Good boy,” Lena said, petting his head. She dried her eyes, needing to conceal her feelings before returning to the party.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Yawning, Kara took the garbage bin to get started on cleaning. It was eleven and her guests had finally left. Her wife had offered to clean up and told her she should go get some sleep, but she had insisted to help. Just because it was her birthday didn’t mean she was going to be lazy, plus she loved spending time with Lena.

Lena turned the water from the sink on and gathered the plates and forks to wash the dishes. They had a dishwasher, but she preferred to wash them herself to get it over with. Her cheeks felt a little sore from all the balloons she’d blown up. In the past she never used balloons, considering her mother told her they are gross.

“Um… about earlier tonight,” Kara said, hesitant as she tossed plastic cups in the garbage bin. “You were trying to tell me something,” she recalled. “Right before I went to blow out my candles.”

“Oh,” Lena whispered, surprised that Kara noticed.

“It sounded important,” Kara said with a shrug.

Lena grabbed the first plate and rinsed it. Why were three little words so difficult to say? Perhaps because they were never exchanged in her family. Maybe she was afraid about what could change if she did. She put the plate down, sighed and turned to face her wife.

“You mean a lot to me,” Lena said sincerely. “My… feelings confuse me.”

“Okay,” Kara replied, frowning. “Maybe I can help?”

“I care about you and that terrifies me,” Lena confessed. “My whole life I have been taught to avoid attachments and then you waltzed your way into my life. I didn’t know what love felt like until I held you and Elle in my arms, until I saw how you both look at me with eyes full of wonder, hope and expectations.”

“It’s okay to be scared,” Kara whispered, reaching out for Lena. “If you ever feel like running, you can always run back to me. I told you I’d be your friend and I meant it. You’re not in this alone, I promise.”

Lena wrapped her arms around Kara, so tight she wasn’t sure if her wife could breathe. Tonight she’d hold her while they sleep, as she had done many nights before. “You are in my heart, Kara,” she whispered while slow dancing through the kitchen with her.

Kara smiled and rested her head on Lena’s shoulder. “You’re in my heart, too,” she replied, closing her eyes as they continued to dance.

Lena tried to silence her erratic heart as she sang their wedding song. She placed her index finger under Kara’s chin, gently coaxing it upwards until those blue eyes gazed at her with an emotion she now recognized as love.

Kara’s lips parted, feeling like Lena was looking into her very soul. Somehow her wife could always read her as if she couldn't keep any secrets from her, but part of it must be because she betrays herself with her body language.

Lena stroked Kara’s lips with her thumb, wanting nothing more than to kiss her wife. Even though their marriage was temporarily, she felt lucky she had the chance to spend it with the woman she loved.

Kara thought Lena was about to kiss her, but she frowned when her wife stretched her arm, moving her away, though within a second or two, Lena twirled her around and pushed her front against her back. She smiled when her wife kissed her cheek.

Lena hummed happily as she wrapped her arms securely around Kara’s waist from behind.

Together they danced and sang not at all in sync, but neither one of them cared because it was their own special melody and all that mattered was that their hearts beat as one.

 


	16. Chapter 16

It was a Sunday afternoon when Lena was sitting in her office in Kara’s house, working on a project for Mister Hiyashi, when she heard her wife scream so loud it caused her to bolt out of her office.

“Darling, what happened?” Lena asked, studying her wife from head to toe, looking for any kind of possible injuries. “Are you okay?” she asked, wondering who she’d need to kill.

Kara sucked her lips into her mouth, but it did nothing to hide her grin. She jumped up and down and flicked her eyes towards her daughter until Lena followed her gaze.

Lena gasped when she saw Elle pushing herself up onto her feet, taking a wobbly step while she moved her arms around as if she was impersonating Frankenstein. “Yes, baby girl,” she said, crouching down. She stretched her arms out in front of her, making grabby movements. “You can do it.”

Kara crouched down next to Lena, holding her arms out as well. “Come to mommy, baby,” she said, smiling.

Lena wouldn’t believe their eleven month old was walking if she wasn’t witnessing it with her own two eyes. She dropped her arms so Elle would walk up to Kara instead of her.

“Da-da,” Elle said, stumbling against Lena.

“You are so very special,” Lena said to Elle, tapping her nose with her finger. “Go to mommy,” she whispered, gently nudging Elle to walk again.

Kara cried when Elle walked into her arms, but not as much as she was crying when her daughter had walked up to Lena. She knew she could be oblivious sometimes, though she knew for a fact that Elle considered her wife as her parent, too.

“Lena,” Kara whispered, needing to get this off of her chest.

“Yes, my love?” Lena asked, still caught in the middle of her feelings.

“I know we made certain agreements and that we have a contract,” Kara said, chewing the inside of her cheek as she hoped she wouldn’t accidentally freak Lena out. “But…I want you to know that Elle is as much your daughter as she is mine, if you want her to be.”

Those words broke Lena’s dam and before she could stop it or even try to conceal it, she was bawling her eyes out. She nodded through her tears, unable to speak. Of course she wanted Elle to be her daughter. Why give a child one parent when she could have two?

Elle pouted and wobbled over to Lena. “Da-da,” she murmured, burying her nose in her neck.

As Elle began to cry, too, Kara held the both of them in her arms. “Your mama is crying because she’s happy, baby,” she said to their daughter. “She’s so happy you’re here. We both are.”

Elle continued sniffling until Lena stopped crying. “Buh!” she shouted when the doorbell rang.

“I’ll go get it,” Kara said, standing up. She stretched her arms and walked over to the door, seeing that it was their social worker. “Hi, come in,” she said with a friendly smile.

Lena hoped her eyes weren’t red as Lucy walked in for an unannounced visit. It felt strange to see her now in this context, knowing she’d see her again tonight at the club, in a private context. Alex had asked her to go clubbing with them to avoid having Lucy feel like a third wheel.

Lucy glanced at Elle and wrote something down. “How long has she been walking?” she asked, sounding surprised.

“Since today,” Kara answered, feeling so proud of Elle.

“She’s a quick learner,” Lena commented. “I read some children don’t walk until they are fifteen months old.”

Lucy nodded and scribbled onto her clipboard. “Have there been any accidents involving the dog?” she asked, glancing at Buddy who was waggling his tail.

“No, there haven’t,” Lena answered, smiling at the sight of Elle crawling towards Buddy.

“They’re best friends,” Kara supplied. “Buddy always tries to comfort our daughter when she cries,” she said, feeling a wave of relief that saying _our daughter_ wasn’t a lie anymore.

“Okay, that’s good,” Lucy said as her face and voice remained neutral. “Does she eat and sleep well?”

“Oh she definitely eats well,” Lena answered, chuckling. “She has my wife’s appetite.”

“Excuse you but my appetite is healthy,” Kara said to Lena, smiling at her. “And yes, she sleeps well,” she answered Lucy. “She wakes up less.”

As Lucy threaded through their place, Lena could hardly believe that was the same young woman she once gave a ride home for being completely smashed, but at the same time she knew what it was like to focus on work.

 

 

* * *

 

 

The lights were too flashy and the music too loud, though Lena would have grasped on to whichever excuse she could find to avoid flat-out admitting she felt homesick. Ten minutes, that was how long she had been inside this club and she couldn’t stop missing Kara and Elle. It was as if they had worked their way into her veins.

“I’ll bite,” Maggie said, sitting down on the stool at the bar next to Lena. “What’s on your mind?”

“Kara said Elle is my daughter, too,” Lena answered, staring at her bottle of beer.

“Hmm, I see,” Maggie hummed, signaling the bartender for another drink. “Deep down that’s what you wanted, no?”

Lena chuckled dryly. “You really are a detective,” she said, clasping her fingers around her drink.

“It’s obvious with the way you are around Elle,” Maggie said, sipping from her beer. “When she pouts or looks like she’s about to cry, I see your hand moving a bit, as if you just want to reach out and comfort her before anything is actually wrong.”

“It kills me when she’s upset,” Lena confessed.

“Hey, don’t drink without me!” Alex shouted above the music, from a distance. “By the way, Luce just texted me that she arrived,” she said as she sat down on Lena’s other side.

“The two of you need to promise me not to get completely drunk,” Lena said sternly, not going to deal with their drunken asses again. “I really don’t need Maggie throwing up all over my shoes again.”

“Oh shit,” Maggie replied, slamming a hand in front of her mouth. “I threw up on your shoes?” she asked, wincing. “I can’t remember, sorry.”

“Hence you shouldn’t drink so much,” Lena pointed out.

“We promise it won’t happen again,” Alex assured Lena. “Sawyer and I know our limit and I’m sure Lucy will keep it in check, too.”

“Babes!” Lucy called out, leaning over the bar. “Scotch,” she said to the bartender. “Make it a double one.”

“I’ll have some of that, too,” Maggie said to the bartender, putting her now empty bottle of beer down.

“Put it on my tab,” Lucy said, winking at Maggie. “I know it’s your favorite.”

“Mhmm, you have a good memory,” Maggie said, smiling as Lucy sat down next to her. “What else do you remember?”

“I remember how sexy you looked in what you were wearing last time I saw you,” Lucy answered, winking naughtily.

“She really did,” Alex agreed, nodding. She slid over to sit near Maggie and Lucy. “Speaking of looks, I love your dress,” she said to Lucy. “It’s very… catchy,” she said, her eyes landing on Lucy’s cleavage for a moment.

Lena face-palmed and she wondered why they even asked her along. There was no way Lucy would have felt like a third wheel if she hadn’t been here. If anyone was the third wheel, it was her. Or well, fourth wheel. Alex, Maggie and Lucy really needed to get it together and figure out what they were doing or wanted to do. It was as if they couldn’t stop flirting with each other.

Maggie drank her scotch in one go. “How about a dance?” she asked Lucy. “I’m calling dibs on Alex for the next dance.”

“Lead the way, babe,” Lucy answered, hopping off her stool.

Lena honestly didn’t even want to know what they were up to. She could only guess they were leaning towards polyamory and if not that, they’d need to revise their actions.

“Looks like I don’t have a dance partner at the moment,” Alex said, emptying her drink. “What do you say, Lena? Can a sister dance with her sister from another mister?”

“She can if she never says that again,” Lena answered, smiling when Alex chuckled.

“Fair enough,” Alex agreed. “For what it’s worth, it’s nice to have you as a sister.”

Feeling emotions from earlier today mingling with her current emotions, Lena burst into tears yet again. She cried as Alex hugged her and even though she no longer had a big brother who would comfort her – not that he did often to begin with – she now had a big sister who did. Alex, just like Kara, didn’t ask why she was crying and she appreciated that. If anything was worse than crying it was having to explain why.

“Let’s get you some fresh air,” Alex said to Lena while she signaled at Maggie and Lucy she’d be back. She guided Lena outside, away from the music and the crowd. “Want to go for a spin?” she asked, nodding her head at her motorcycle.

“When you say spin, do you mean a short ride or a long one?”

“Oh I was talking about doing a wheelie and all that,” Alex answered, smiling when the hint of a smile appeared on Lena’s face. “I want to be the next Evel Knievel.”

That did get a laugh out of Lena, even though it was short-lived as she had to put a damper on the mood. “I’d like to go home, if that’s alright,” she said, sighing. She knew she said she’d party with them, but it looked like they didn’t really need her anyway and she’d rather be with her wife and her daughter tonight. “It’s been an emotionally taxing day.”

“No problem,” Alex replied, holding her spare helmet out. “You want a ride from me or you going to call your driver?”

“You can give me a ride,” Lena answered, accepting the helmet. “Though it’s a hard pass on that wheelie,” she added, chuckling.

Later that night when Alex had dropped her off, Elle had slowly walked up to her, yelling _dada_ at the top of her lungs. Her wife had been crying, looking at their wedding pictures, but quickly smiled when she kissed her. Now she found herself curled up next to Kara on the couch, one arm looped around their daughter as they watched The Secret Life of Pets together.

 


	17. Chapter 17

Elle giggled. “Dada,” she cooed, clasping and unclasping her fingers.

“I am supposed to look scary,” Lena said, leaning over Elle’s crib. She was clad as a vampire, in the spirit of Halloween and because Kara said she’d make a sexy vampire. “Happy birthday, baby girl,” she whispered, lifting her daughter up.

Elle smiled up at Lena and touched her fake vampire teeth.

“You are one of the happiest children ever, so much like your mother,” Lena said, never going to be able to grasp why others didn’t want to adopt Elle. It must have been faith holding on to Elle until her wife and she could come to adopt her. “Speaking of your mommy, she is baking a birthday cake for you.”

“Nam?” Elle asked, tilting her head to the side.

“Yes, food,” Lena confirmed. “You are my clever little girl,” she said as her heart swelled with pride. “And you’re also ticklish.”

“Noooo,” Elle giggled when Lena tickled her.

“I love you,” Lena whispered, kissing Elle’s cheeks and her little nose. “Let’s get you into the costume your mommy picked out for you, which for the record I had nothing to do with.”

Elle wriggled in Lena’s arms ten minutes later when she was being lowered into bath. “Buh,” she said, pointing at her duck on the edge of the bathtub.

Lena held on to her daughter with one hand. Even though Elle was perfectly capable of sitting, she didn’t want to risk her slipping under the water for even a second. She grabbed her duck and put it in the water in front of her.

“Ducks say quack,” Lena said, wanting to teach her daughter as much as she could. “Someday I’ll take you to the park to see real ducks, but it’s too cold now.”

Elle splashed her hands in the water, laughing when some of it soaked through Lena’s costume.

Lena sighed, though she was smiling. Growing up as a Luthor, she never knew having a child could be so much fun. Her family always made it seem like a burden, a nuisance. She washed Elle and took her out of the bath, drying her off and putting her costume on.

Kara was in the middle of decorating Elle’s birthday cake in the kitchen when her wife walked in with her. “Awe,” she said, melting as she saw their daughter in her little pumpkin costume. “There’s my little pumpkin, happy birthday.”

“Knock, knock!” Alex called out, swinging the door open. “There’s my niece,” she said, grinning as she held her arms out. “Happy birthday, cutiepie.”

“More like pumpkinpie, from the looks of her,” Maggie commented.

“Nice to see you using your key for once,” Lena said to Alex, voice flat.

“Neat costume,” Maggie said to Lena, nodding at her.

“I love what you two are wearing,” Kara said, looking at her sister and at Maggie. “You’re dressed as… hmm….”

“I’m Catwoman,” Alex supplied. “And Maggie is Batgirl.”

“Mhmm,” Maggie hummed. “I’m a bad girl,” she said, winking at Alex.

“We can all go trick or treating together,” Kara suggested, lips splitting into a smile. “I just have to put my costume on first.”

“Chill, little Danvers,” Maggie said, halting Kara. “It is morning. I think it’s a little early to go trick or treating.”

“Have you two eaten breakfast yet?” Lena asked Alex and Maggie as she began to set the table ready.

“Nam,” Elle said, whirling her head around to look at Lena.

“Yes, baby girl, you’ll get food,” Lena replied, smiling again at how smart Elle was.

“Not yet,” Alex answered Lena’s earlier question. “We wanted to get here as soon as possible. It’s not every day my niece turns one.”

Kara took care of feeding Buddy while Lena was getting breakfast ready. “I see you’re spoiled, too,” she whispered to her dog when she saw he had a bone in his mouth, which she hadn’t given him.

When they all sat around the table, Lena used to occasion to snap a few pictures, which later could be added to the album her wife had been creating, unless she’d create an album of her own.

“There’s this major Halloween party tonight,” Maggie announced. “It starts at midnight, so no worries. We’ll be here for Elle’s birthday and the trick or treating.”

“I was going to ask mom if she could watch Elle so you two could come with us,” Alex said, chewing on her bottom lip as she looked down.

Kara frowned and stared at her sister. “Is something wrong with Eliza?” she asked, preparing for the worst.

“She’s sick, but it’s nothing serious,” Alex answered, heaving out a sigh as she looked up. “At least that’s what she told me,” she added. “She said it’s the flu and she’s just a little feverish.”

“I hope she gets well soon,” Lena said, putting a hand on her wife’s knee for comfort. “You can go, darling,” she said to Kara. “I’ll stay with our daughter.” It seemed fair, given all the times she had gone out with Alex and Maggie that her wife would go out with them this time.

Kara would much rather go with Lena or not at all. In the past she always went to Halloween parties with her sister, but as a mother this year, she felt like she was outgrowing partying. Going together wouldn’t be an option if they didn’t have anyone to watch Elle and there was no way she’d let a stranger watch her either.

“I’ll think about it,” Kara said finally. “For now we can enjoy breakfast first and see how today goes.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Buddy chased after the plastic ball Elle tossed away, sticking his tongue out of his mouth as he bumped against Kara.

Kara lost her balance and stumbled, sighing in relief when Lena was quick enough to steady her. “Maybe you shouldn’t have gotten our daughter her own ball bath,” she said, though she wasn’t upset.

Lena spun Kara around and brushed a kiss against her lips. She bit her lip when her wife blushed. “Elle likes it,” she said, smiling as their daughter giggled. “And I think Buddy likes it as well,” she added, watching their dog bring the ball back to Elle, who threw it away again for him to fetch.

“I doubt you should be commenting on Lena’s gift,” Alex said to her sister with a shake of her head. “You said Elle has enough clothes to dress an army of babies and toddlers, yet you bought her clothes.”

“But I had to,” Kara spluttered, staring incredulously at her sister. “I was at the store and those clothes were calling out to me. She’s going to look so cute wearing them.”

“You two deserve each other,” Maggie teased Kara and Lena. However, it didn’t seem to have that kind of effect when they both looked at each other only to duck their heads away a second later. “Hey, I have an idea,” she said, sticking her finger up. “How about you two get in the ball bath with Elle and I’ll take a picture?”

“That’s a good idea,” Alex pitched in. “We could print it on a card and send it to mom,” she said to her sister.

Lena raised an eyebrow as Kara immediately got into the ball bath. There was no way she, a businesswoman for crying out loud, would get in a ball bath, something she never did as a child either.

“What are you waiting for?” Kara asked Lena, holding a hand out as she sat next to Elle. “Please?” she pleaded, offering her wife her best pout.

Elle began to pout as well. “Dada,” she whined, making grabby movements with her hands.

“Not a word,” Lena whispered to Alex and Maggie, who chuckled as she walked over to get in the ball bath.

Maggie cupped her hands around her mouth. “Whipped,” she mouthed to Lena.

Lena knew she was whipped, but who wouldn’t be with a dorky wife and a little angel pouting to join them? As if she could ever say no to either one of them.

“Good thinking, Sawyer,” Alex murmured to her girlfriend, looping an arm around her as she watched over her shoulder.

“They’re in love,” Maggie whispered, getting her camera ready to take a picture. “All they need is an extra little push.”

“What are you two whispering about?” Lena asked, suspicious as she kept seeing Maggie’s and Alex’s lips move.

Maggie shrugged. “Say cheese!” she shouted.

“Cheese,” Kara said, smiling as she held Lena and Elle close.

“Nam,” Elle said, holding a hand out. She stared at her hand expectantly.

“I love you so much,” Lena whispered, hugging Elle.

Kara’s heart melted into a puddle. She smiled when her sister handed Elle a cookie. While pictures were taken, she couldn’t stop gazing into Lena’s eyes while their daughter was smacking her lips together as she was eating her cookie.

The world slowed down for Lena. Sounds were drowned out as she focused solely on Kara, who was leaning in closer, unless she was the one who was leaning in closer, or perhaps they both were. She licked her lips which had felt a little dry and caught how her wife was following the movement of her tongue.

Kara could almost feel Lena’s breath puffing against her lips. She wanted to kiss her and not in a platonic way, not a peck. On some level she was aware of her sister and Maggie being in the same room, but it didn’t matter because it wouldn’t stop her from loving her wife and wanting to seal it with a kiss, and then more kisses after that.

At the last second, Elle wriggled herself between her mothers, giggling when they both kissed her cheeks.

“This beauty is the one,” Maggie said, nodding at Alex as she looked at the picture she just took of Kara and Lena kissing Elle’s cheeks at the same time, just as a smile had appeared on Elle’s face.

Lena bit her lip while Kara simultaneously fidgeted with her glasses.

 


	18. Chapter 18

Kara pressed a kiss to Elle’s forehead, not regretting her decision to stay home tonight rather than going to a Halloween party. She preferred being here with her family, having a chance of tucking Elle in with Lena.

Lena sang a lullaby, smiling through it as Kara joined her. She laced their fingers together, feeling a pleasant warmth spreading from her hand to the rest of her body.

“Our baby girl is growing up,” Kara whispered. It had always puzzled her how Elle never took to using a pacifier, which she brought up to Lucy once, who said it was nothing to be worried about.

“I hope she won’t grow up too fast,” Lena replied, keeping her voice down. “Time goes fast enough as it is,” she whispered, sighing.

Kara didn’t miss the sad undertone which had accompanied Lena’s words. She gave her hand a squeeze and gently tugged her wife with her to exit their daughter’s bedroom. “I think she had fun today,” she whispered, smiling.

“Poor thing is completely exhausted,” Lena said, chuckling. “Buddy has far more energy than her to run around,” she continued, cringing slightly as she remembered how often Elle fell down because she was too little to be running. Yet their daughter didn’t cry once, she simply kept getting back up.

“I’m glad they’re both sleeping,” Kara replied, yawning. “Now we can have some peace and quiet,” she said, needing that from time to time. “I have a ton of Halloween movies we can watch.”

“Actual Halloween movies or Halloween movies for children?” Lena asked, chuckling when Kara slapped her arm. “I know scary movies frighten you, you’re more the romcom and family movies type.”

“Pfft, I’m not scared… much,” Kara answered, wringing her hands together as she sat down on the couch. “It’s Halloween, everything is supposed to be scary,” she pointed out, grabbing the remote.

Lena sat down next to Kara, curious to find out how long it would take her to jump into her arms and cling to her. “Hocus Pocus,” she read as her wife scrolled through the options. “Oh yes, that movie is very scary,” she teased, “for toddlers.”

“I’m looking for the scariest one,” Kara replied, quickly scrolling past Hocus Pocus.

“In the children’s section?” Lena asked, smiling when Kara pouted. “I love it when you pretend to be angry,” she said as her wife crossed her arms.

Kara blushed and avoided Lena’s eyes, instead concentrating on picking a movie. It would be midnight soon and she hoped their daughter wouldn’t be tired in the morning. They should have put Elle to bed earlier than they did.

Lena kept her lips sealed when Kara selected Casper, which was a Halloween movie for children. She didn’t care what movie they watched, all she wanted was to be near her wife, who had chosen to stay with her rather than going to a Halloween party with Alex and Maggie. It made her feel special and wanted, like maybe she did deserve this after all.

At the stroke of midnight, the power fell out, casting them in darkness.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Kara whispered, feeling around for Lena. "Very funny, Lena,” she sighed.

“I swear I did not do that,” Lena replied, grasping Kara’s hand in the dark.

“Umm… it’s probably ju-just… a co-coincidence,” Kara reasoned, gripping Lena’s hand tightly. "Ri-right?" 

Thirteen minutes later, the power switched back on.

“Got you,” Alex said, entering her sister’s house with Maggie, laughing.

Maggie nudged Alex, ceasing both of their laughter as she gaped at the couch.

Kara was straddling Lena’s lap, hands cupping her breasts over the fabric of her costume as she was kissing her.

Lena had her hands tangled in Kara’s hair and was kissing her back just as fiercely.

“We’ll just…,” Alex said, taking a step back as she cleared her throat. “Okay, you’re obviously not listening to a word I’m saying.”

Maggie grasped Alex’s hand and led her outside to give Kara and Lena some privacy. Clearly their joke to make them scream hadn’t worked, although she liked this result better. “Just pretend, hm?” she mumbled, grinning as she shook her head. “Temporary marriage my ass,” she whispered to her girlfriend.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Lena was holding Elle’s gloved hands in her gloved ones. She made sure her daughter was wearing warm clothes, a scarf and everything, but she held her hands regardless to keep her from getting cold. Holding her chin up high, she entered L-Corp, smiling proudly.

“Good morning, Miss Danvers,” Jess said, perking up behind her desk. “I see you brought a little helper today.”

“Buh,” Elle said, smiling.

“Good morning, Jess,” Lena replied, taking Elle’s gloves off. “I am leaving in an hour, you may take the rest of the day off,” she said, only needing to do a bit of paperwork before Alex would arrive to take Elle with her.

She entered her office, thinking of the day she’d be spending with her wife, who was currently away to check in with Eliza. Taking a child to work wasn’t ideal, but given she was her own boss it didn’t matter and she doubted her daughter would cause any problems whatsoever. As soon as Alex would come to babysit Elle, she’d leave to go on a date with Kara.

During the night of Halloween, they had talked for hours and decided they wanted to try dating. Hence they planned a date to start somewhere. If her wife wouldn’t get stuck in traffic, they would meet up at the ice skating rink in an hour and a half. Alex had practically leapt at the opportunity to babysit. She swore her sister in law was dealing with a severe case of baby fever.

Lena freed her daughter from the baby carrier and put her down. “This is mama’s office, baby girl,” she said, smiling as Elle wandered off.

Elle walked over towards the glass, which separated the office from the balcony. She was less wobbly than she used to be, but still not that steady. She pressed the palms of her hands against the glass.

Lena inwardly cringed at the sight of it, not a fan of the glass being touched. She considered telling Elle no, but doubted if she would understand what she was doing wrong. It was just glass she could have it cleaned later. With a deep sigh, she sat down behind her desk. She glanced at the papers on her desk, including the contract she made with Kara.

Elle, who apparently had lost her interest in the view, stumbled over to Lena and tugged at her pants. “Dada, up,” she said, holding her arms out.

Lena placed her hands under her daughter’s arms and hoisted her up onto her lap. She wondered when Elle had learned to say up and felt a swell of pride at how smart she was. “I think Jess has some cookies for you somewhere,” she said, standing up, balancing her daughter on her hip.

“Nam?” Elle asked, tilting her head to the side.

“Yes, baby girl,” Lena answered, dancing a little as she walked towards the door, purely because it made Elle giggle. “Jess is going to give you a cookie and bring you back to me in five minutes,” she said to her daughter while she handed her over to her secretary.

“Will do, Miss Danvers,” Jess said, carefully holding Elle.

“One cookie,” Lena said to Jess, holding her index finger up. “No matter how much she pouts, don’t give her more than one,” she said, knowing how sneaky Elle could be to get more cookies.

Jess nodded and with that, Lena went back into her office.

Lena grasped the contract, which felt like a heavy weight was pressing down on her. She took a lighter and stepped out onto her balcony, shivering due to the cold. “I can’t do this,” she whispered, simply not strong enough.

The contract burned and smoldered until it was gone, only existing in her memory now. She looked at the city, stretching around her while tears pooled in her eyes. A Luthor wouldn’t cry, but she wasn’t a Luthor anymore, was she? She couldn’t stand being a robot that had to conceal all of her feelings to appear cold and detached.

She dried her eyes and plastered on a smile as the sunlight broke through the grey clouds. For a long time, years even, she hadn’t been okay, but this time she’d be okay. She knew she would be because she had Kara and Elle.

“Dada!” Elle shouted, grinning as she held a cookie in each hand.

Lena raised an eyebrow at her secretary, who was trying hard to look innocent. She honestly couldn’t blame Jess, knowing how hard it was to say no to Elle. Thankfully her daughter couldn’t hold more than two cookies or she’d want an entire jar.

Elle munched on one cookie and held the other out to Lena.

“Aw, a cookie for me?” Lena asked, smiling when Elle responded with _nam_. “Thank you, sweetheart.”

“Excuse me,” Jess said, sniffling. “I have something in my eye.”

“It is alright, Jess,” Lena assured her with a polite smile as she placed her hand on her shoulder, squeezing once. “There is nothing wrong with crying.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Kara was still putting her skates on as she watched Lena glide graciously over the ice. She told her she could go ahead rather than waiting for her and that she’d catch up. The truth was that she was being slow on purpose simply to watch her wife for a minute.

Lena had reached the other side of the skating rink when she caught Kara getting onto the ice. She bent her knees and moved with easy strokes. Soon after, both of her skates were parallel to one another, causing her to pick up speed with each split second. Not long after she gained momentum, she collided with Kara.

“Oomph,” Kara said, stumbling back ever so slightly as she brought her arms up around Lena. “I almost fell,” she gasped, relieved Lena didn’t knock her down, even though she wouldn’t have been angry about it.

“I would have caught you,” Lena replied, moving her hands down Kara’s arms until she was able to grasp her hands. “Are you ready?” she asked, a smirk playing at her lips as she let go of her wife’s hands to move over to her side.

“Uhuh,” Kara hummed, nodding as she smiled.

“Good,” Lena said, putting one foot further than the other as she bent one arm in front of her body and one arm behind her back. “I’ll race you to the other side of the rink? The loser buys hot chocolate.”

Both of Kara’s eyebrows shot up. “You’d race me-” she said, pausing as her jaw dropped when Lena took off. “To the other side of the rink,” she finished quietly. She laughed and began skating after he wife, who had turned around to skate backwards, making a come here signal with her finger. “Oh you’re so on!” she shouted, skating faster. “I’ll get you!”

“My, my,” Lena replied, voice taunting. “Is my wife going to punish me?” she asked, reveling at Kara’s instant blush.

Oh no, no way, Kara wasn’t going to let Lena take the cherry this time. “Why, _daddy_ , are you hoping I will?” she replied, her voice downright dirty, ignoring her flushed cheeks as her wife bit her lip and yes there it was, a blush accompanying that lip bite.

 


	19. Chapter 19

Lena was more frozen in place than the ice underneath her feet, stunned that Kara called her the one thing she never expected to pass her lips. She was painfully aware her wife could tell it affected her and try as she might, she couldn’t conceal this.

Kara stopped short of Lena, happy to find out she struck a chord. Her eyes dipped down to her wife’s lips, following the pink tongue that traced across them.

“That was…,” Lena said, smiling slightly as she tried to process it. “Impressive,” she concluded. “I like this side of you, it’s sexy,” she confessed, though she also much liked Kara being a dork.

“So um… you haven’t answered my question,” Kara backtracked, blushing.

“Maybe I am hoping you will punish me,” Lena answered, shamelessly roaming her eyes down Kara’s body. “That’s for you to find out,” she said, winking. “However, be that as it may, you owe me a cup of hot chocolate.”

Kara groaned, both out of anticipation of what could happen if she’d try to find out and out of having lost their race. “Double or nothing?” she suggested, batting her eyelashes at Lena. “Silence means yes,” she teased, skating off before she’d even given her wife the time to answer.

Lena burst out laughing and hurried after Kara. She felt young and free, both being a rare feeling to her, ones she wasn’t usually permitted. Her wife continued to bring out the life in her, she made everything more vibrant.

Kara shrieked when Lena caught up with her and wrapped her arms around her.

“I got you,” Lena said, kissing the shell of Kara’s ear. “Do you surrender?”

“Nope,” Kara answered, smiling as she tried to skate on, dragging Lena along with her.

“Are you certain?” Lena asked, tickling Kara’s sides.

Kara squealed and wriggled out of Lena’s arms. “That’s cheating!” she shouted, taking her wife’s hands to stop her from tickling her.

Lena looked at the short distance they had left to reach the other side of the rink. If she’d reach it first, she’d win, though she had no intention of winning because she was already a winner each morning when she woke up next to Kara.

“Oh no you won’t,” Kara said, following Lena’s sight of line. She dropped her wife’s hands and rushed to get to the other side first.

Lena skated after Kara, keeping a few inches distance to make it look like she was trying to win. When her wife reached the other side first and broke into a wide smile, her heart did a summersault in her chest.

“Aha,” Kara said, pricking her finger against Lena’s chest. “Who owes who a cup of hot chocolate now?”

As she smiled, Lena wondered why she never asked Kara out when she’d moved into that small apartment. She had no idea back then she was missing out on this adorable dork that would make every day better just by being in it. “Given it was double or nothing, it only seems fair you get two prizes,” she answered, eyes flitting down to her wife’s lips.

Kara blushed, tangling her hand in Lena’s sweater to pull her closer. A breath away from her wife’s lips, she whispered, “two cups of hot chocolate it is,” before letting go.

Lena couldn’t keep herself from groaning. She really thought Kara would kiss her, not tease her. “Who are you and what have you done to my flustered wife?” she asked, chuckling when her wife’s blush deepened.

“I love it when you call me that,” Kara mumbled, ducking her head as she sucked her lips into her mouth.

“Flustered?” Lena asked, teasing Kara right back.

“ _You_ ,” Kara replied, dragging to word out. She hugged Lena and launched a kiss attack on her cheeks. God, she was so deeply in love with her wife and yet she kept falling more for her every day somehow.

Once Kara seemed done launching a kiss-apocalypse, Lena rested her forehead against hers. She went to tilt her head to lean in and kiss her wife when someone crashed into them. Clearly, standing to the side hadn’t helped to avoid collisions.

Kara gripped the bar behind her with one hand and helped Lena to stay upright with the other. The child that had bumped into them fell though.

Lena spun around to face the inept skater, ready to give them a piece of her mind, only to breathe out and relax when she saw it was a young boy. “Are you okay?” she asked, sticking her hand out to help the poor child up.

“Y-yes, ma’am,” the boy answered, wide-eyed. He seemed to hesitate for a moment before accepting Lena’s hand.

“Tommy!” a woman yelled, causing the boy to flinch. “I told you to hold your brother’s hand, look at what you did,” she said, sighing. “I’m sorry for my clumsy son,” she said to Lena and Kara.

Lena could feel Kara squeezing her hand so tight it hurt. “It is fine,” she replied, forcing herself to remain calm, though her skin was crawling. “He is a child and a child cannot possibly learn how to get back up when not being allowed to fall in the first place.”

The words flew right over the woman’s head. “He should learn how to stop,” she said, shaking her head as she glared at her son. “We’re going home,” she said sharply to her son, grasping his hand.

Kara stomped her skate on the ice when the woman and the boy were out of sight. “She doesn’t deserve to be a mother,” she spat. “He’s just a little boy. He’ll learn how to skate. It’s not the end of the world. Even if he is a bit clumsy, there’s nothing wrong with that.”

Lena had never, not once, seen Kara angry before, but she’d felt her anger bubbling up during the time her hand was being squeezed. “I know,” she said, voice soft as she hugged her wife, caressing her back. “I know,” she repeated.

“Your mother treated you like that, didn’t she?” Kara asked, choking back a sob.

Worse than that, but Lena didn’t want to upset Kara further. “It is in the past now,” she answered, hugging her wife a little tighter to let her know it was okay.

“You’re so much better than her,” Kara replied, pulling back to look into Lena’s eyes. “You were the only good Luthor.”

It went unspoken how sooner or later, Lena would be a Luthor again and not only by blood.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Hi, we’re here,” Alex said, voice cracking a bit. She put Elle down so she could walk up to her mothers.

Lena smiled when Elle walked over to her. “I missed you, baby girl,” she whispered, scooping her up.

“Alex?” Kara asked, frowning when she saw her sister’s glassy eyes. “Alex, talk to me,” she said, resting a hand on her shoulder.

“How about you play with Buddy for a bit?” Lena said to Elle, putting her down. She threw one of Buddy’s toys for him to fetch, before going to sit down on the couch.

“It’s such a mess,” Alex whispered, tearing up as she joined Lena on the couch with her sister. “I was babysitting Elle with Maggie and Lucy,” she said, clasping her hands together.

Lena had an inkling what it could be about. She glanced at Kara, who wasn’t as up to speed with the situation as she was. Her wife knew Lucy and Alex seemed somewhat flirty, but she didn’t know about that drunken night.

“Fast-forward, Lucy kissed me,” Alex said, cringing when her sister gasped. “I hadn’t seen it coming and I was startled. I was thinking of what to say to her, but then she went and kissed Maggie.”

“That’s awful,” Kara replied, feeling bad for her sister. “Lucy knows you and Maggie are together, it’s not right of her to do something like that.”

“Her kiss felt different from when Maggie kisses me,” Alex continued. “But it wasn’t a bad kind of different, just… different,” she said, trying to find the right words to explain. “Lucy feels torn now because she likes us both and I’m worried Maggie might choose her over me someday.”

“Lucy should feel torn,” Kara huffed. “She’s trying to come between you and Maggie, but it won’t work. Maggie loves you and you love her.”

“I thought that maybe…,” Alex chuckled and shook her head. “I’ve been so stupid,” she said, crying more as she looked at Lena. “I thought polyamory could be an option, but when Lucy kissed Maggie… it was difficult to watch.”

Lena pinched the bridge of her nose, hating to see Alex in such pain, even if she might have partially brought it upon herself.

Kara’s frown deepened, along with her confusion. “You were considering dating Maggie _and_ Lucy?” she asked her sister, wanting to make sure she understood.

“The idea crossed my mind,” Alex admitted. “I’m still new to this and finding my way. I struggle to see the difference between finding a woman attractive and wanting to date them. Lucy and Maggie are both attractive and I like them both, but not in the same way.”

“How about you take some time to think about it?” Lena suggested. “Distance yourself from both of them for a while and once you’ve cleared your mind, you can talk to them.”

“Yes, take some time,” Kara agreed, nodding. “Think it through and meanwhile Maggie and Lucy can do the same.”

“Yeah,” Alex sighed. “It’s all confusing.”

Kara reached for her sister’s hand and smiled at her. “Whatever decision you make, you’re my sister. I love and support you,” she said, even if she might not agree with the situation or the outcome.

“Idem,” Lena said, placing her hand on top of Kara’s and Alex’s.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Shhh, Buddy,” Kara whispered, petting her dog. “Elle is sleeping, we have to be quiet,” she said, putting his squeaky toy aside.

Lena pondered about the next question she’d ask Kara. They’d been talking since Elle fell asleep, after the amazing date they had, which for the record, wasn’t over yet. No, the whole day counted as a date.

Kara smiled as she joined Lena on the couch again. She was relieved to see Buddy had decided to lay down on his blanket for a nap.

“How do you see your life in five years from now?” Lena asked, having a feeling Kara might have thought about that way more than she had.

“Oh, that’s an easy question,” Kara said, glad it wasn’t a tough question like the last one when she had to pick five favorite things to eat. “In five years from now I want to be a reporter and have a bigger family.”

Lena hoped Kara would get what she wanted, wishing her all the happiness in the world.

“If you weren’t a CEO, what kind of job would you have chosen?” Kara asked, always having wondered what Lena would have done if L-Corp hadn’t been handed to her.

“I might have chosen to have my own restaurant,” Lena answered, grinning as Kara licked her lips. “Then you would visit every day, which would make working far more pleasant.”

“Oh god,” Kara mumbled quietly, blushing. “That’s not fair, you have to be honest.”

“If I didn’t own L-Corp, I would be doing something else that includes science,” Lena said thoughtfully. “If you could do anything you wanted right this minute, what would it be?”

Kara blushed more as she tried to gather her courage from earlier today. “Why would I tell you when I can show you?” she replied, surprising Lena by fisting her shirt.

Lena responded instantly, crashing her lips against Kara’s. She grasped the hem of her wife’s shirt, moaning into her mouth when Kara placed her hands on top of hers, taking her shirt off together. Her shirt quickly followed, ending up on the floor.

Kara could feel the desperation in Lena’s touches, mixing with her own desperate touches. She kissed her wife’s shoulder, pushing the strap of her bra aside. Shaky hands reached behind Lena’s back. “May I?” she asked, eyes flitting from her wife’s eyes to her lip bite.

Lena nodded, biting her lip harder when Kara moaned aloud the second her bra was off. She hooked her fingers in her wife’s bra, asking permission with the tilt of her head. Only when Kara nodded did she take her bra off, tossing it across the room.

“We should… um…,” Kara whispered, vaguely gesturing at the stairs. “Take this upstairs,” she added quietly when Lena didn’t seem to move.

Lena stood up, only to freeze on the first step of the stairs. “Kara,” she said, grasping her wrist to gently urge her to turn around. “Will you regret this in the morning?” she asked, unsure if they should be going so far when they were still new to dating and when their divorce kept closing in.

At this point she honestly wasn’t sure anymore if she even wanted to get divorced, despite their wedding having taken place fast. She knew she loved Kara and a divorce wouldn’t change that. Her feelings were irrelevant because she promised. She may have burned their contract, but that didn’t mean she’d cross Kara.

She was a woman of her word, which was something the Luthors never taught her. It was one of the first things she taught herself when she decided she wanted to be better, wanted to make a difference rather than follow in their footsteps. That was the reason why she was so hell-bent on keeping promises.

Kara felt her gust twist to even think about Lena thinking she’d regret it. “I’ll never regret a moment I spent with you,” she answered, smiling a little as she reached out for her wife. “I love you, Lena,” she said, tearing up even though her smile increased. “I know it might scare you, but I really love you, whether we cuddle tonight, get intimate or sleep separate. Although I’m hoping you won’t choose the latter.”

Tears sprung from Lena’s eyes as she placed her hand in Kara’s. “I wouldn’t dream of choosing the latter,” she replied, laughing a little. She followed her wife up the stairs, into her bedroom and the first thing she did was hug her, exhaling as she rested her head on Kara’s shoulder. “I love you, too.”

 


	20. Chapter 20

Elle giggled while she pushed her hands in yellow paint.

“Good thing I put plastic on the floor first,” Lena said, shaking her head as she watched Kara and Elle getting paint on the plastic.

“Dada,” Elle cooed, wrapping her arms around Lena’s leg.

“Yellow, baby girl,” Lena replied, smiling while Kara laughed. “It’s sweet of you to decorate my pants, though I’d rather have you decorate your room instead.”

“Good thing it wasn’t my idea to do this,” Kara said teasingly. She loved Lena’s idea, even if their clothes would end up covered in paint and she loved how sweet she was to Elle, knowing how expensive her wife’s clothes were.

“Orange you glad?” Lena asked, chuckling.

“Speaking of orange,” Kara said, slowly walking over to a bucket with orange paint. “You could use some,” she said, shamelessly smearing a handful of orange paint on Lena’s shirt. “Aw, was that out of the blue?” she asked, adding a smidge of blue paint.

“You…did… not,” Lena gasped, gawking at her ruined clothes. “I will get black at you!” she said, unleashing a paint fight.

“Elle, too!” Elle interrupted, wriggling herself between her mothers. She set one foot in a bucket of red paint and another in a bucket of yellow paint, clapping her hands together while she smiled.

Lena snapped a picture, ignoring the paint she was getting on her phone. “Someone needs a bath,” she said, eyeing Elle.

Elle averted her eyes before pointing at Kara. “Mama, tub,” she said, nodding her head with wide eyes.

“Oh my, I get to play with all those ducks by myself,” Kara said, smiling when Elle’s jaw dropped. She loved her little duckling so much, who was very bright for a thirteen months old.

“Mine,” Elle replied, pouting as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“I’ll prepare a bath for all of us,” Lena said, fighting a blush of her own when Kara blushed. She lifted Elle out of the buckets, cradling her in her arms. “Perhaps we will be able to decorate this room tomorrow, or else mama is going to run out of clothes to wear.”

“Maybe mommy wouldn’t mind that,” Kara murmured, just not silent enough to keep Lena from hearing. “Oh god,” she whispered when her wife smirked at her. “At least Elle won’t run out of clothes though, because a certain someone bought her tons.”

“Now that you mention clothes, how about you take yours off?” Lena suggested, winking at Kara. “Given our last few nights, I’m sure you know how and I’m sure you won’t mind getting wet.”

“Lena!” Kara shouted, eyes wide and blush rising. “We can save this for later?”

“My, Kara, whatever do you mean?” Lena asked, batting her eyelashes. “One can’t take a bath without getting wet. I am not sure what you were implying…”

“I’ll get you,” Kara mumbled, not buying into Lena’s act of innocence.

“Imagine me and you, I do,” Lena sang while she walked down the hall with Elle. “I think about you day and night.”

Kara chuckled as she followed Lena towards the bathroom. God, she really loved that woman so much it was killing her inside. She smiled to herself, thinking how lucky she was to be Lena’s wife, even if it was only for a few months. 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

“Miss Danvers, your wife’s sis- wait!”

Alex’s chest heaved as she rushed inside Lena’s office, smiling while she shut the door, silencing Jess’ protests. “I knew you’d be here when I saw your lights were still on,” she said, sighing as she combed her hand through her hair.

Lena raised an eyebrow, surprised to see Alex, given it had been a while after the whole situation with Maggie and Lucy. She even had to talk Kara down more than once to stop her from going to Alex’s place. Her wife hadn’t been the only one who was concerned, but it was important they let Alex have her space.

“It’s eight, you know,” Alex said, bobbing her head towards the clock on the wall.

“My wife is aware I am working late tonight,” Lena replied, unsure if Alex was criticizing her.

“Wife, hmm?” Alex asked, grinning. “I see.”

“Force of habit,” Lena answered, waving it off. “Now, what brings you here?”

“Oh, right,” Alex said, snapping her fingers. “I thought about stuff and my mind has never been clearer than it is now. You have to come with me, we’re going out.”

Lena sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. She wanted to say no and continue to work instead, but perhaps it was better if she’d keep an eye on Alex and make sure she was okay. “Alright,” she relented, getting up. “I’ll let my secretary know she can go home.”

Alex held the door open, eyes twinkling with mischief.

Lena frowned at Alex’s odd cheerfulness. “I expect to be home at one,” she said, holding her index finger up near her sister in law, “and not a minute later.”

“You got it, Cinderella.”

“She only had until midnight,” Lena corrected.

“Aha, so you did watch those movies!” Alex replied, smiling proudly.

“It tends to happen when you have a child,” Lena dryly pointed out.

“Let’s not keep ladies waiting,” Alex said, signaling at Lena to follow her.

Lena hoped that whatever Alex was up to would be more promising that it sounded. A motorcycle ride later, she got to find out when she walked into the dive bar they’d gone to several times. Maggie and Lucy were sitting at the bar, chatting, with a third woman whom she couldn’t place.

“Lena, this is Susan Vasquez, my colleague,” Alex said, gesturing at the woman. “Susan, this is Lena Danvers, my sister in law.”

“Pleasure to meet you, ma’am,” Susan said to Lena, nodding at her.

“Likewise,” Lena replied, so far okay with the situation considering they weren’t all flirting with each other. “You may call me Lena.”

“I’ll buy us some shots,” Susan said, pulling a few bills from her pocket. “Body shots anyone?”

“I’m game if it’s your body I can drink from,” Lucy answered, grasping the first shot the bartender put down. “Unless, someone else wanted to?” she asked, glancing briefly at Alex and Maggie.

“No, no,” Alex answered quickly. She smiled and took the second shot the bartender put down. “I’m going to try this with Maggie,” she said, winking.

“Last one to finish buys the next round,” Susan said while she got on top of the bar.

“Please,” Maggie replied, laughing. “Finishing last means knowing how to treat a lady,” she said, pressing a kiss to Alex’s blushing cheek.

As Lena watched the four of them doing body shots, she felt like Alex had brought her here as a fifth wheel. Despite that initial feeling, she didn’t mind, because in the end she had a wife and a child waiting at home for her. Always true to her words, she would have supported Alex with whichever decision she’d have made, although she was relieved to see Alex decided to let Lucy go by introducing her to another woman.

 

 

* * *

 

 

The air was thick as Lucy wrote a few things down on her clipboard, occasionally sparing Kara and Lena a glance. Aside from casual greetings, none of them had spoken a word.

Kara had contemplated requesting a new social worker, but she didn’t want the adoption agency to know of the odd situation between Lucy and her sister. It could bring negative attention to her family and she wasn’t out to risk Lucy getting fired. Her sister wouldn’t want her to anyway.

“I see Elle has fully integrated into this family,” Lucy said, putting her pen down. She smiled, a little forced, as she placed her clipboard under her arm. “I will visit again next week, before the holidays,” she announced simply.

“Okay,” Kara replied, body tense.

She’d rather not have Lucy back in her house so soon, but at least the next visit was announced while this one hadn’t been. It was a part of her job she knew that, though it still irked her. Her wife rarely took days off from work and now that she had just so they could spend time together with their daughter, Lucy had to drop by.

It didn’t matter that Lucy had backed away from Alex and had begun to date someone. She couldn’t stop disliking her for what she did, for how confused her sister had been. Not yet at least. It might take months or even years before she’d be able to look at Lucy without distaste.

“My next visit will be my last,” Lucy said, glancing over at Elle who was petting the dog. “I believe further visits after that won’t be necessary. Next week when I come over, I’ll bring the last paperwork and Elle will be officially yours without any social visits.”

Kara should have felt relieved, but she didn’t, far from it as a matter of fact. It scared her the visits would stop right before the holidays already. She’d hoped she would have had more time, despite not having thought she would have as much time as she had gotten. It pained her that her contract with Lena was coming to an end. Her wife would divorce her and move out. They’d probably still date, but it wouldn’t be the same and that was too much for her to bear.

Lena swallowed the invisible lump in her throat, saddened to hear she’d have to divorce Kara so soon and go back to her old life, the one she didn’t want back. She pushed her sadness aside to be happy for her wife. “Thank you, Lucy,” she said with a smile as her heart ached. “My wife and I are happy our prayer has been answered.

Kara didn’t even manage to say something while Lena saw Lucy out. Maybe she had been wishing for too much, but she didn’t want her wife to become the one that got away. “We need to talk,” she said the second Lena shut the door. “Right now,” she added, pulling a chair out. “Please,” she whimpered, gesturing for her to sit down.

Without question, Lena sat down. She wanted to hug Kara and ask her why she was on the verge of tears rather than jumping around in joy, but instead she waited for her to speak.

“Okay,” Kara said, exhaling as she willed her hands to stop shaking. She sat down across from Lena, needing to look into her eyes. “I know we have a deal, sealed by a contract, but hear me out,” she started, pausing to take four deep breaths. “We agreed we… you… err…,” she tried, unable to say the word _divorce_ because saying it felt like it would make it truer.

Lena’s lips formed a tight line while she waited for Kara to spit it out. She wanted to know which part of their agreement her wife wished to break. If Kara was about to offer her joint ownership of the house, she would flat-out refuse.

“I know we agreed you’d… leave once the social visits stop,” Kara said hesitantly, dancing around her words like she was trying to dodge landmines. “ _But_ ,” she added, dragging the word out for a second longer than necessary. “Her last visit is right before the holidays and this is going to be our daughter’s first Christmas with us. Will you please stay until Christmas?”

That wasn’t what Lena expected and it brought her close to tears that Kara wanted her to spend Christmas with them. In the past she never celebrated Christmas. Her mother loathed the obnoxious joy and never allowed a Christmas tree or gifts. When she lived alone, she never celebrated it either because she didn’t have anyone to celebrate it with. Of course she’d want her wife and her daughter to have a merry Christmas they’d never forget.

“I’ll stay,” Lena answered, heartbeat skipping when Kara cried while smiling. “We can consider this an exception, for Elle.”

 


	21. Chapter 21

“Maggie said yes!!”

Kara’s jaw dropped along with the fork she’d been holding, stunned to hear her sister proposed to Maggie while they had only been seeing each other for a little under a year. Not that she should be the one to talk when it came to that, given how abruptly she’d proposed to Lena when barely knowing her. It surprised her mostly because Alex and Maggie avoided a bad fallout by a hair.

Out of all the news she’d expect her sister to bring, that wasn’t it. Though she was relieved it wasn’t devastating news. What Alex went through with the whole Lucy situation wasn’t ideal and surely she made her share of mistakes, but she wasn’t a bad person and her sister deserved happiness. Seeing Alex smile as if nothing could ruin her day or even hear year, for what was left of the year at least, made her feel warm inside.

Lena frowned, fork frozen mid-air. “Come again?” she asked Alex, wondering if she heard that correctly.

“We’re going to get a dog and name her Gertrude,” Alex answered, sighing as she continued to smile.

“Ohhh,” Kara said, a little embarrassed by her wrong assumption. She laughed and lifted her fork, filling it with food. “I thought you were trying to tell us you and Maggie got engaged,” she confessed, thinking of how they could all laugh about it later.

“Well, yes,” Alex replied casually. “That, too,” she confirmed.

“Alex... wha… wow,” Kara said, a crinkle appearing between her eyebrows.

“You two should see the look on your faces,” Alex chuckled, glancing between Kara and Lena. “It’s like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Are you kidding?” Lena asked, hoping this wasn’t another prank like the one she pulled with Maggie on Halloween.

Of course she looked shocked, it was hard not to after everything she heard and saw with her own ears and eyes. Before Alex introduced Lucy to Susan, she’d been almost sure she was leaning towards polyamory or towards breaking up with Maggie. She was there when those idiots had been flirting with each other, which thankfully was in the past now.

“No, I really did propose and she said yes,” Alex answered, smiling just barely as she toyed with the zipper of her jacket. “I’m so happy,” she said, voice elevated. “I know Maggie is the one and now I’ll get to spend the rest of my life with her.”

Kara shook herself out of her confused state to get up and hug her sister. “I’m so happy for you,” she said, hugging Alex tightly. “And I’m calling dibs on being your best man,” she murmured against her shoulder.

Alex laughed and patted her sister’s back. “Of course, I was going to ask you or Lena anyway,” she replied, smiling.

Kara’s eyes widened as she pulled back from their embrace. “Um… actually, no, you should ask Lena,” she said, thinking it might mean a lot to her wife to get that opportunity. It would also secure having Lena at her sister’s wedding.

“I would, but Maggie was going to ask Lena as her best man,” Alex explained, looking over at her sister in law who sat there, gaping like a fish unable to breathe on land. “I’ll let her know you said yes,” she teased Lena.

Lena closed her mouth immediately. “Yes, it would be a pleasure to be her best man,” she said calmly, though on the inside alarms were ringing, wondering why Maggie wanted her out of all people.

“When is the wedding?” Kara asked, rubbing her hands together.

“Not so fast, speedy Gonzales,” Alex answered, laughing. “Our wedding won’t be for another five or six months.”

“I am happy for you and Maggie,” Lena said, smiling upon seeing Alex genuinely happy. It was all she could ever want for her family, including temporary family.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Kara whistled when she dropped a Christmas ball, after Lena had explicitly told her to be careful because they were fragile. The second her wife eyed her suspiciously, she pointed at their daughter.

“Did you drop that, baby girl?” Lena asked Elle, pointing at the broken ball. She already knew the answer of course because she’d seen Kara drop it from the corner of her eye.

“No,” Elle answered, pouting. She pointed at Kara, saying, “mommy.”

“Well, well,” Lena said, licking her lips as she walked a circle around Kara. “Someone has been naughty.”

“Mommy cowner,” Elle said, taking Kara’s hand.

Kara followed Elle when she tugged at her hand, eyes widening as her daughter stopped in the corner, leaving her there.

“Not what I had in mind, but it’ll do for now,” Lena said, chuckling.

Kara muttered to herself, wishing she’d never taught Elle about standing in the corner. She put their daughter in the corner once, when she’d thrown her vegetables on the floor. It only lasted a full thirteen seconds because Elle’s quivering lip broke her resolve.

“Eyes wall,” Elle said sternly when Kara tried to turn around.

Lena left Kara standing in the corner for a minute while she continued to decorate the Christmas tree with Elle. “You can join us now,” she said to her wife.

“I can’t believe this,” Kara mumbled, joining them.

“I love you,” Lena whispered, smiling when Kara blushed.

Kara stopped being grumpy after Lena kissed her, six times. “Time to put the star on top,” she said, carefully unpacking it.

Lena nodded at her wife and picked Elle up. She held her near the top so she could help Kara to put the star on top of the tree. “Twinkle, twinkle little star,” she sang, tickling their daughter who giggled.

Soon, their daughter would be fourteen months old. Elle had been with them for almost six months.

Lena felt genuinely happy, being here with her own little family. She wished she could keep them and even expand her family further. It would be lovely for Elle to have a brother or a sister. She knew Kara had thought of a brother or a sister for their daughter as well, though she never mentioned anything about wanting her included. It would sound like she was reaching if she would suggest keeping their marriage going for a while longer, until they’d adopt a second child.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Sleep wouldn’t come as Kara watched the rise and fall of Lena’s chest. Her wife was out like a light. She wouldn’t mind seeing her like this for hours, having done that more than one night before. There was a constant ache in her chest, knowing her time with Lena was limited. Sure, she’d gotten more time by asking her to stay until Christmas, but it wasn’t enough.

She knew she should feel lucky because she had the chance to get married and adopt a child, and she felt lucky, though she couldn’t deny she yearned for more. Dating or not, asking Lena not to get that divorce wouldn’t be fair. Dating didn’t mean her wife would want to spend the rest of her life with her.

“I know our marriage was out of the blue,” Kara whispered to the darkness while she reached out to brush a lock of Lena’s hair out of her face. “It may have seemed impulsive and admittedly, it kind of was, but it was the best decision I ever made in my life.”

The steady rise and fall of Lena’s chest continued as she didn’t even stir.

“When I said my vows to you… I meant them,” Kara sighed, smiling slightly while a few tears escaped her. “You’ll always be beautiful beyond compare to me. We’ve been married for almost six months and I can’t stop falling in love with you every day all over again.”

When she proposed to Lena, she had no idea her feelings would grow so much. She thought her feelings would be on the border of friendly. It was awkward enough how Lena had fainted back then, which gave her a hint of what could happen if she’d ask not to get divorced. No, whatever she would do, she could never ask Lena not to get divorced.

“Each day I fall in love with you for new reasons,” Kara whispered, wishing she could be that honest without Lena sleeping, but her heart was too scared for that. “I fell in love with the way you speak to our daughter, mature at times yet adorable. I fell in love with how you’re instantly sold the second Elle pouts, even if you said beforehand she couldn’t have another cookie. I fell in love with the way you bite your lip to avoid blushing, which doesn’t always work.”

For a brief moment it crossed her mind to ask Lena to stay forever because their daughter wouldn’t understand where she went if she’d leave after Christmas, but that would be manipulative and she’d never be able to do that to her wife, who had been showing so much love to Elle and to her. It did concern her what she would tell their daughter once Lena moved out. Ultimately, she had to admit her whole plan of a temporary marriage wasn’t that well thought out as she initially thought it was.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Lena wrung her hands together while she sat behind her desk, unable to concentrate on work. Christmas was less than a week away. During the time she’d been planning it with Kara, Lucy had stopped by for one final visit. It made her swallow, hard, knowing that without her wife’s request to stay until Christmas, she wouldn’t be living with her family anymore.

Last night when she’d gotten home, Kara had been on the couch, bawling her eyes out as she watched their wedding video. It had been a wedding gift from Winn. Seeing her wife distraught broke her heart. She wanted to hold her and hug the pain out of her, but when she got close, Kara had smiled and pretended nothing was wrong.

Each night they went to bed together and the thought of having to sleep separately after Christmas left her hollow. She dreaded it deeply, to the point where she stayed at work the way she used to when she was single. She did it so she could return home to find Kara sleeping. It didn’t work, because her wife seemed to stay up, waiting for her.

This morning before she left, they had laughed, considering they simultaneously brought up when their next date would take place. Perhaps it was because of the holidays or because they were both scared their flame would sizzle out, or maybe a mix of both, but they immediately agreed their next date should be somewhere in January.

As if that wasn’t enough, Kara had asked her to keep her agenda clear on Valentine’s, which had made her blush. Nobody had ever celebrated Valentine’s with her, not beyond sharing an expensive bottle of wine. Of course she hadn’t hesitated to say she would. She hadn’t promised though, no, not this time, just in case. Promises could put her heart on the line and she was too vulnerable to place it there again.

Marrying Kara had been an unexpected move, but falling in love with her was the real surprise. When she told Kara she’d be by her side for as long as she’d have her while they stood in front of the altar, she hadn’t been lying. She fell in love with her quirks, the kind of things people tend to try and hide about themselves, but not her wife. Kara was unapologetically herself, bright smile, nervous fidgeting and all. She’d hate to divorce the love of her life, but for Kara she’d do anything, even if it meant letting her go.

Tears stung behind Lena’s eyes. “I have to do this,” she sighed. “A promise is a promise, Lena,” she said sternly. Her eyes hardened, thinking how Kara deserved better and how she’d never be good enough, not really.

 


	22. Chapter 22

“Oh, honey,” Eliza said, smiling as she handed her coat to Kara. “I’m so proud of you,” she whispered, glancing around at the decorations.

Kara frowned slightly, confused why Eliza would say that. The sound of her adoptive mother’s voice made her want to hug her again, just like she’d done the second she had opened the door to let her in.

“When you announced your wedding six months ago, I was surprised you were going to marry a woman I hadn’t met before,” Eliza confessed, sighing quietly. “The moment I met Lena, I knew you made the right choice, I knew she was the one for you. I could see it in the way your eyes lit up when she was in the room with you.”

Kara swallowed hard, trying not to cry. After all these months, Alex and Maggie remained the only two aside from Lena and her who knew the truth. Everyone else had no idea their marriage was set up for the adoption. It made her feel guilty that she hadn’t been honest, but it was too late for that now. Eliza had recently been very ill and what pulled her through it was seeing both of her daughters happy with the women they love. She didn’t want to break Eliza’s heart with the truth.

“Hey, mom,” Alex said, smiling while she walked out of the kitchen, holding a plate with snacks. “How are you feeling?” she asked, her smile dropping slightly to make place for her concern.

“I’ve never felt better,” Eliza answered, looking around at her family. She walked over to Maggie and Lena to hug them. “There are my beautiful daughters in law,” she said, hugging Maggie first. “Welcome to the family, honey.”

Maggie wiped her tears with her sleeve as she hugged Eliza back. “I’m happy you’re feeling better,” she said sincerely. “And thank you, it’s a pleasure to become a part of this family.”

Alex blushed, bit her lip and ducked her head when her mother winked at her to let her know she chose well. “Who wants snacks?” she asked once her mother seemed done hugging everyone.

“Nam,” Elle answered, reaching her hand out.

“I love this kid,” Maggie said, chuckling. She grabbed a snack from the plate and handed it to Elle, ruffling her hair while she ate it.

“Uhuh,” Alex said cheekily. “Who has baby fever now, Sawyer?”

“Still you,” Maggie answered, sticking her tongue out.

“Right, that’s why I’m about to marry a child,” Alex replied, sighing as she shook her head.

Maggie smiled and caught Alex’s wrist, tugging her close. “I love you, too,” she whispered, pecking her lips.

“Kiss me like you mean it then,” Alex grumbled.

“In front of your family?” Maggie asked, laughing when Alex’s eyes went wide. “I thought so.”

“I’ll open a bottle of champagne,” Lena said, excusing herself to the kitchen.

Elle tilted her head before throttling after Lena.

Eliza eyed the Christmas tree, which had gifts stuffed under it and several gifts were placed next to the tree due to lack of space under it.

“Umm…,” Kara said, awkwardly scratching the back of her neck. “That’s not just from Lena and I, for the record,” she stated. “We all love to spoil Elle.”

“That biggest one is from Lena though,” Alex commented, pointing at the wrapped gift which was almost as high as the Christmas tree.

“I wonder what’s in it,” Maggie mumbled. “Is it for Elle?”

“It doesn’t say,” Kara answered, curious to find out what was in it as well. “None of Lena’s gifts say who they’re for,” she said, surprised that her always organized wife left them unlabeled, though she bet about half of Lena’s twenty presents was for Elle.

Elle walked up to Alex, sippy cup with orange juice in her hands while she looked up at her. “Nam,” she said, pouting.

“Awe, sweetie,” Alex replied, crouching down to let Elle take as many snacks as she wanted.

“Let me just…,” Kara sighed, gesturing at the kitchen, “I’ll go get another plate with snacks so we can actually all have some.”

Lena chuckled, seeing how Elle had gotten bits of food on her chin and her cheeks, just while she’d walked in with the champagne. “Come here, baby girl,” she said, bending down with a tissue in her hand.

“Dada,” Elle cooed, abandoning the food to rush over to Lena.

Lena felt like a deer caught in headlights when Eliza looked at her. Kara and she really needed to make work of getting their daughter to stop calling her dada. Not once, okay, once, her wife had called her that, but they didn’t have a daddy kink, which seemed to be what Eliza thought.

The awkward silence was broken when Buddy licked Elle’s face, causing her to giggle while she tried to keep him at bay.

“Bud!” Elle shouted, laughing loudly. “Nooo,” she giggled when he tackled her.

“Scratch my words from earlier,” Maggie said. “I love that kid and that dog.”

“You better not love Buddy more than Gertrude,” Alex replied, daring her to disagree with a raise of her eyebrow.

“With a name like that I’m not sure,” Maggie mumbled, mostly inwardly.

Alex frowned, not quite having heard her. “What was that?” she asked, walking over to Maggie.

“Oh nothing,” Maggie answered, shrugging. “I said you’re right and I love you.”

“Uhuh,” Alex replied skeptically. “I have my eyes on you, Sawyer,” she whispered, pointing two fingers at her eyes, then at Maggie.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“You and I are going to be sisters in law,” Maggie said, alone in the kitchen with Lena, washing a couple of dishes while the others were watching television with Elle in the living room. “Pretty rad, huh?”

“I wish,” Lena sighed, scrubbing the plate harder. “This is my last day living here, my last day as Kara’s wife. We won’t be sisters, but we can be friends, if that’s alright.”

“That plate is clean,” Maggie said, taking it out of Lena’s hands. “Are you sure this is your last day of being married?”

“It was always meant to be temporarily, you know that,” Lena answered, a forlorn look in her eyes while she reached for another plate.

“But you’re not sure,” Maggie replied, tossing the towel over her shoulder. “You don’t want to get divorced, do you?”

“Always the detective,” Lena said, laughing dryly.

“Always deflecting,” Maggie shot back. “You love her and she obviously loves you, too.”

“I know that,” Lena confirmed, sighing louder. “It’s just not enough,” she said, biting her lip to keep it from trembling. “If she wanted to stay married, she’d have said something.”

“Oh, like you did?” Maggie pointed out, placing a hand on Lena’s shoulder just as a first sob escaped her. “You’re allowed to want something, Lena.”

Lena cried and shook her head. “I promised,” she whispered. “I can’t ask her not to divorce me, it wouldn’t be right.”

“You’d rather let her slip through your fingers than tell her you can’t imagine your life without her?” Maggie asked, offering Lena a sympathetic look as she stroked her back. “I almost made that mistake with Alex because my ego didn’t dare to admit how soft she makes me, how I wouldn’t be able to go a day without hearing her voice. She could have fallen for someone else and moved on, but I put my pride aside and told her exactly how I feel because you never know when someone’s last day will be. And you know what? She felt the same and she proposed to me before I even had the chance to propose to her.”

There was a pause, a beat of silence.

“Maybe holding on to that promise like it’s a lifeline is your pride,” Maggie said, shrugging. “You’re too proud to admit you want to stay married because you’re stuck on being seen as this awesome selfless woman, who always does everything for others. Who says you can’t be that awesome woman while wanting something for yourself?”

“You’re being kind again,” Lena whispered, smiling weakly while she wondered how she’d deserved such kindness, first at her wedding and now again.

“You say with surprise,” Maggie replied, pulling Lena into a hug. “You’re a good person. You’re one of my best friends, my family even.”

Lena was speechless, not having thought Maggie considered her to be one of her best friends. In the back of her mind her mother’s words echoed, how she had to conceal rather than feel. Mother be damned, she thought as she cried in Maggie’s arms.

“It feels good to have another sister,” Lena said, giving Maggie one last tight hug before letting go.

“I want you to know that whatever happens in the future, you’ll always have a family in me, regardless of your last name.”

“I must admit I pegged you wrong,” Lena replied, smiling while she tried not to sound like she’d been judging Maggie. “When I first met you, I had a vibe you were a lone wolf.”

One corner of Maggie’s mouth moved up into a smirk. “Wolves travel in pack,” she said, winking.

“You have a point,” Lena admitted. “Omega,” she added, teasing.

Maggie laughed and whipped Lena with the towel. “If anything, I’m an alpha,” she said, jutting her chin out. “Just ask Alex, she’ll confirm it.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Elle squealed when she opened present after present, showing the same amount of amazement for each one, whether it contained clothes or toys.

Kara shook her head when her sister and Lena had both gotten Elle a dollhouse. “You realize she’s hardly fourteen months old, right?” she asked, thinking how she’d personally have waited another two years or so for such a gift.

“Yeah, but she can walk,” Alex argued, smiling when she saw Elle hug each dollhouse. “Elle doesn’t seem to mind.”

“You are one to talk, Kara,” Lena said, chuckling as she gestured at the various toys her wife had given their daughter.

“Elle is a lucky little girl,” Eliza said, eyes sparkling. “She is loved by many people.”

Lena wrapped her arms around Elle and placed a kiss on her cheek. “My little angel,” she whispered.

They continued to exchange and open the rest of the gifts.

Alex gasped when she opened the gift Lena gave her. “Lena… this… this is a lot,” she said, showing it to Maggie, who immediately gasped as well.

“You bought us a vacation for our honeymoon?” Maggie asked Lena, stunned. “Three weeks in Italy,” she whispered, covering her now open mouth with her hand.

“You deserve it,” Lena insisted, smiling warmly at them. She wanted to do something kind for all of them and it helps that she can easily afford things. If she hadn’t bought them a vacation they’d have continued to work after their marriage and newlyweds deserves a honeymoon.

Eliza thanked Lena when she received her gift, which was a gift card for yearlong visits at a spa. “Thank you, honey,” she said, pulling her into a hug. “You are very generous.”

“The biggest gift is for you, Kara,” Lena revealed, having noticed how they had all stared at it many times during the night, trying to figure out what was in it and who it was for.

Kara felt jittery while she took her time to open the gift, as if she was trying to keep the wrapping whole. Her eyes turned to the size of saucers when it was open, revealing a large painting of Lena, Elle and her, which looked exactly like the picture of them in the ball bath.

“I know you’d wanted to decorate more,” Lena said, feeling emotions bubble up. “With this, you’ll always be able to think back to good memories.”

“It’s beautiful,” Kara choked out, overwhelmed by tears as she hugged her wife and their daughter. “I love you,” she whispered.

“I love you, too,” Lena replied, smiling when Kara kissed her.

 

 

* * *

 

 

With one final hug, Eliza left.

Alex’s yawn sounded entirely fake, especially when Maggie released an equally fake sounding yawn.

“We’re going to hit the hay,” Maggie mumbled, rubbing her eyes. “Thanks for letting us use your guestroom.”

“You’re always welcome to sleep over,” Kara replied, considering that one room wasn’t used anyway. “Goodnight,” she said, a little surprised they were going to sleep already while it was hardly midnight.

“Nighty night,” Alex yawned.

“Sleep well,” Lena said, winking knowingly at them.

Maggie glanced at Lena, rapidly shifting her eyes to Kara and back to her a few times.

“Looks like it’s just the two of us,” Kara whispered to her wife when her sister and Maggie walked up the stairs. “Would you like to watch a movie together?”

“I am a bit tired,” Lena answered, massaging her temples. “I need to use the bathroom for a moment,” she said, pressing a kiss to Kara’s lips.

Kara instantly wrapped her arms around Lena, kissing her back because the taste of her lips was addictive. “Merry Christmas, Lena,” she breathed against her lips, kissing her again.

Lena moaned and nipped at Kara’s bottom lip. “Merry Christmas, Kara,” she whispered, sighing as she broke their embrace. “I had a good time,” she said, having had the best Christmas ever, one she’d never forget.

“Mhmm, me too,” Kara hummed, attempting to reel Lena in again. “I can make it even better,” she said, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively, which only made her wife giggle. “Hey, I was trying to be sexy,” she protested.

“You are such a dork and I love you for that,” Lena replied, hoping Kara would never change. She smiled when her wife blushed. It amazed her how her words kept getting to Kara this much after six months, as much as they had since their first day together.

“Your dork,” Kara whispered happily, nuzzling her face in the crook of Lena’s neck. She knew her wife wanted to use the bathroom, but surely she could spare five minutes?

 

 

* * *

 

 

Lena had packed a singular suitcase, deciding she’d spent her night elsewhere to give herself time to think about what she wanted to do. In the morning she could come back to eat breakfast with Kara and Elle, and discuss a few things.

“Wait,” Kara said, voice panicky and eyes wide as she placed herself in front of the door. Seeing Lena ready to leave just like that made her realize how badly she never wanted her to leave. She hoped it wasn’t too late while she pulled a small box out of her pocket.

Lena’s hand tightened around her suitcase, heart beating fast while she hoped that maybe, just maybe, Kara would ask her to stay. She should leave and take some time to think, probably more than one night, but it would be tough to say no if she’d be asked to stay.  

“Lena,” Kara whispered, opening the box. “Will you marry me again?” she asked, no longer capable of holding her tears back. “This time I’m asking you to marry me because I’m irrevocably in love with you and I can’t imagine growing old with anyone else. I only want you to say yes if you feel the same way,” she explained, unsure what Lena would say or do. “I don’t want to get divorced,” she said, laughing through her tears, hating even pronouncing that word. “I want to marry you again and I hope you won’t faint this time, but if you do, I’ll catch you. I’ll always catch you.”

Lena didn’t faint, but she did fall. She put her suitcase down and smiled. “I’ll marry you on one condition,” she said, composed while her heart felt like it was about to break free from her ribs which held it caged.

“Wha-what’s… your con-condition?” Kara asked, fearing the businesswoman inside of Lena would prevail and make a contract out of it. She didn’t want to strike a deal. She wanted to marry her soulmate.

“I want-” Lena cut herself off and shook her head. Want didn’t sound right, even though it was something she wanted. “I would like a bigger family, so yes, a thousand times yes,” she said, laughing heartily when Kara flung herself into her arms. “I will marry you over and over again to let you know my heart beats only for you.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was so cheesy to write, I'm kinda relieved it's over, haha.   
> Y'all got your happy ending. :)

**Author's Note:**

> I had this idea and I just had to write it. Hope you enjoy it. :)
> 
> (This was totally going to be a one-shot until it wasn't)


End file.
